Conflict, Competence and Commitment to Cost Control in the Quest for Environment-Friendly Shipping

Abstract

The grounding of the ‘Aegean Sea’ off the coast of north-west Spain on 3 December 1992 happened at the end of one of the worst years for shipping in recent memory. It was also a year which brought some indication that the shipping industry — at long last — is starting to focus more on risk limitation. Barely a month later die incident was followed by another tanker disaster in European waters involving the ‘Braer’, which grounded in Scottish waters. Both incidents not only confirmed mat me risk of accidents never recedes, but also put into an awkward perspective new legislative requirements concerning double-hull tanker construction. First introduced under the US Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), these requirements were subsequently incorporated in new amendments to me Marine Pollution (MARPOL) Convention adopted by me International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1992, albeit with substantial compromise provisions and the inclusion of an alternative design with equivalency status: die ‘mid-height deck’ tanker developed by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.