Enhancing quality and safety management in shipping: tanker management and self assessment

• Author: Fatih Turker
• Position: Istanbul Technical University/ Maritime Faculty ITU Maritime Faculty 34940 Tuzla- Istanbul TURKEY/Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ismail Deha Er Istanbul Technical University/ Maritime Faculty ITU Maritime Faculty 34940 Tuzla- Istanbul TURKEY
• Pages: 128-134

Page 128

1. Introduction

Shipping industry is governed by a multitude of statutory regulations that support ship safety and pollution prevention efforts at both national and international level. However the nature of the shipping business allows companies to carry the flag of the country which best fits to the companies objectives. While some of the flag authorities pay utmost attention to the performance of their registrated vessels in the name of safety and environmental consciousness; some other, which are generally called as "flag of convenience", approach the problem as a more "business" way. According to the OECD the percentage of sub-standard ships in the world commercial fleet is estimated to be between 10-15% (Peijs, 2003). The maritime industry solution to this problem is represented by the vetting inspections which are performed on oil tankers, chemical tankers and bulk carriers. The vetting inspections create a strong commercial incentive for the ship operator to comply to the vetting inspection requirements since the outcome of these inspections will determine if the ship gets cargo or not. This lack of trust in the maritime industry among all the industry organizations, stakeholders and regulators has created an inspection industry which is heavily controlled by oil majors in order to limit their liability. Therefore inspections can be classified under six terms. These are (Knapp and Franses, 2006):

- ISM and ISPS audits due to statutory requirements and which are still sometimes performed by the flag states but most of the time also delegated to recognized classification societies.

- Port State Inspections

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- Classification surveys on behalf of flag states and to remain in class - Insurance companies such as P&I Clubs for insurance coverage purposes. - Industry inspections such as vetting inspections performed on oil tankers, chemical tankers, gas carriers and bulk carriers on behalf of oil majors or other cargo owners or on behalf of the ship management. These inspections can be listed as CDI, OCIMF/SIRE, Rightship, and Oil Majors.

- Commercial incentives: These inspections are on request of the ship operator in order to obtain a quality certificate which will then help in obtaining commercial incentives.

However the studies and experiences show that without "embedding the safety and maritime environmental protection culture" with in the company, external audits can have a limited effect on the ship's safety and prevention of pollution caused by shipboard operations. The safety concerns can be classified under three ages as interpreted by Reason (1991) (Fig. 1). First, the focus was on technical problems, and this still has its place. However, as technical systems became more reliable, the focus turned to the human causes, and many accidents were blamed on individuals directly involved in the operation. More recently, major accident investigations like Piper Alpha have recognized that the root causes of failures of equipment and operators lie deeper in the organizations' safety management and safety culture (Department of Energy, 1990).

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In scope of this idea, in 2004, Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) published its best practice guide for "Tanker management and Self-...