Stern warning on tanker safety

The warning from charterers came as incidents last year appeared to show a welcome decline after several years of sharp rises.
Figures compiled by tanker owners’ body Intertanko indicate a 4% fall, while statistics from charterers of chemical tankers and liquefied petroleum gas carriers reveal a 7% decline on 2007.
Last year also saw pollution from tankers reach a record low since 1970, with only 2,000 tonnes accidentally lost.
Last year, of course, saw the end of the boom, during which the strain on resources has been seen as a contributory factor in the increases of 60% in 2006 and 22% in 2007 recorded by Intertanko and of 42% in 2007 logged by the Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI).
The CDI, whose members include chemical manufacturers BASF and Dow and major oil companies, as well as marine insurers Gard and the Norwegian Hull Club, vets chemical tankers and LPG carriers, as well as containerships engaged in the transport of packaged chemicals.
Last year containerships covered were involved in 265 marine casualties, a 3% rise on 2007.
Crew competence has been singled out by both organisations as a major factor in the overall number of incidents.
During the boom, crews were stretched as owners pushed them hard to take advantage of high freight rates. With a shortage of staff with relevant experience pushing up wages and with poaching of key personnel rife, operators were hard-pressed to meet their manning needs.
To fill gaps, officers were rapidly promoted, with already pressed colleagues onboard forced to act as training supervisors.
While wage rises are being tempered by the downturn, overall crewing costs are more likely to rise than fall as employers seek to enhance conditions – medical insurance and pensions, for example – and as they make ships compliant with the impending Maritime Labour Convention.
An estimated 30,000 extra seafarers are needed to crew the expected increase in the tanker fleet up to 2015 (assuming no further orders), the equivalent of 35% of the existing workforce.
Ensuring the new recruits are not only skilled but safety-conscious remains a stiff challenge.
Recent incidents have shown that not even the best safety management system and training can prevent human error among even senior and experienced officers, with Shell and Teekay among those to suffer from such lapses.
Chemical tankers have, since the series of fatal explosions in 2004, been largely free of serious incidents, a fact attributed to efforts by both charterers and operators.