Action needed on places of refuge and casualty investigations
IMO rules should be subject to impact and sustainability assessment says ICS There are some clearly identifiable steps which need to be taken to enhance shipping's already very impressive record of maritime safety, according to International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe.Speaking at the IMO Alternative World Maritime Day Event in Bahrain this week, Mr Hinchliffe stressed the need for mandatory provisions to provide a place of refuge for ships in need of assistance, plus timely and obligatory reporting of casualty investigations by Flag States to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This would replicate the handling of aviation incidents.Environmental protection and crew and passenger safety can be addressed better by raising the current level of guidance on providing a place of refuge to a new level of obligation, he said.Pointing out that accidents may happen even under the most stringent regulatory regimes, Mr Hinchliffe said the industry's ability to learn from such incidents was hampered when accident investigations were not conducted in a timely fashion or the outcomes were not reported to the IMO."The track record of rapidly decreasing environmental impact by the shipping industry is the most powerful measure of the steady increase in the safe design, ...
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