The growing trait of inertia
Posted on | March 21, 2010 | No Comments
Some years ago, a famous personality named Malcolm Muggeridge, who at various times was an agent of MI6, editor of the now departed Punch, and general curmudgeon, entitled his memoirs “Chronicles of Wasted Time.”
The first two volumes, “The Green Stick” and “The Infernal Grove”, are still worth reading, although, as if to demonstrate the validity of his working title, Muggeridge never got beyond those first two volumes.
As I contemplate the vast intellectual steppe of much of our industry, the amount of wasted time and effort, or apparent effort, is striking.
Years ago, I was obliged to attend frequent meetings of the Shipping Committee of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the initials of which are of course UNCTAD. We of course decided that these letters stood for “Under No Circumstances Take a Decision.”
Such as the attitude of our famous shipping associations on many subjects, one of which is that familiar chestnut “The Image of Shipping” (TIOS).
TIOS, like piracy, is the perennial topic that has filled a thousand teacups, endowed numerous conferences, and led (so far) absolutely nowhere.
The venerable associations of shipowners and managers never seem to actually get to grips with an action programme.
That would require making a decision, and decisions are not what we make in this business. We are, however, famously good at holding conferences and meetings. Oh, and blaming the IMO. This is odd, because compared to the various associations and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in which our industry abounds, the IMO is a virtual model of Napoleonic decisiveness.
The solution to the real or perceived problem of TIOS is simply to engage the environmental community in an inclusive and cooperative effort to establish a regime for cleaner seas.
In practice, this means simply sitting down with them on a regular basis, and even drinking some tea. The problem is that our venerable associations (VAs) are not geared up to do this. Their boards of directors are largely selected for their ability to embrace inertia as a guiding principle of life.
As a result, the media, and the public at large, never actually get a clear picture of how much our industry has done to further the protection and remediation of the marine environment. In many countries, the work that governments have done to prevent oil spills, such as those that haven’t happened in the last 25 years or so, and to clean up those that have, are simply never made known even to the cable television stations, like the Discovery Channel in the United States, that enjoy this sort of subject.
I must admit that at a recent seminar in Abu Dhabi, I pointed an accusing finger at one industry representative, and made the statement that nothing much had changed since the organisation that he represents had been founded in the early 20th century.
On reflection, this somewhat inaccurate statement was very unfair to that organisation’s founders a century ago. This is because I have noticed that nearly every such organisation was founded and led, in its early stages, by one or more men (there were very few women, unfortunately) of considerable vision and willingness to lead. One such leader was a Norwegian of extensive talent named Erling D. Naess, who will be the subject of one or more Maitland blogs to come. We miss him!
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