Seafarers must be educated on new regulations
Posted on | March 2, 2010 | No Comments
I am currently in Abu Dhabi where I have had the pleasure to take part in a conference about the Maritime Environment and the role Flag states will play in the implementation of the new IMO regulations i.e the new Audit Scheme.
It goes without saying that all administrations must take the enforcement of environmental regulations and requirements more keenly to heart. To the extent that these overlap with safety at sea, the duty is obvious.
What is not, unfortunately, so strongly asserted is the extent to which “cleaner seas” entail a higher level of education of the seafarer himself (or herself). Most seafarers today, having been trained in the tools that they need – - navigation, operation of hull and machinery, and safety – - do not know much about their environmental obligations. This becomes clear from an examination of the oily-water separator violations (OWS) that still bedevil the industry.
Education must be, for the seafarer, as for those of us ashore, a lifetime preoccupation. Modern broadband access makes this possible on most modern vessels, but much remains to be done to bring about an awareness of the true meaning of protection of the marine environment, and green quality shipping.
The culture that exists among seafarers from the developing world does not yet extend to a full awareness of what compliance with the law actually means.
This leaves us with the duty of enforcement. It is not, given conditions at sea today, an all together fair process. It is not necessarily fair to the seafarer, and a great deal remains to be done in the protection of what I would call the public interest.
Our industry, unfortunately, tends to spend a great deal of time talking to itself. We do not include environmental organisations in our dialogue, even assuming that there is one. There is a perception that “the seas will take care of themselves,” much as there has been, until quite recently (and I have heard this expressed even in the inner sanctums of great oil companies) that all flag state administrations are pretty much one and the same.
Clearly, a great deal is going to have to be done before enforcement by, and upon, flag state administrations reaches an acceptable, and acceptably “green” level. I hope that this post does not discourage any of you from taking a turn at the wheel.
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