Class won't be next casualty

摘要

When the 37 238dwt single-hull tanker Erika went down off the coast of France laden with heavy fuel oil in December 1999, the shipping industry entered an era characterised by European Union-led legislation; an increasing emphasis on transparency; increased policing by port state control (PSC); and intensified commercial pressure on tanker owners and operators, in the form of stringent vetting criteria put into place by the oil majors. Although the loss of the Erika most obviously impacted the tanker sector, the repercussions have spread throughout the marine industry and across the various links in the safety chain, encompassing owners, charterers, classification societies, port state control authorities, insurers, flag state administrations and others.