BOOKS

摘要

The authors of this useful and informative statistical compilation are a former French Minister of the Sea and a Marine Safety Consultant. Much of what they have presented would be very obvious to any experienced mariner. Its value lies in the fact that they have put a lot of work into compiling a large amount of very relevant statistical data. This data mostly serves to reinforce conventional maritime wisdom. The result is a largely positive and optimistic analysis of the current situation. It certainly shows that ship design, construction and maintenance and, thus, safety, are all steadily improving and that the combination of IMO rules and port state enforcement are having a significant beneficial effect.