By
Michele Witthaus |
This article first appeared in the Spring/Summer 2015 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read other articles, you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats
How has the role of the US Coast Guard developed in relation to passenger shipping over the years (regulations, standards, policies, etc.)?
The Coast Guard has always had a strong connection to passenger shipping and it goes back to the very foundation of our marine safety programme in 1871 and the creation of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention after the Titanic disaster in 1912. So while we have always had and still do have a strong interest in passenger safety, how we regulate and the regulations, standards and policies we use have changed. The US has moved from having a large number of ships sailing under the US flag to becoming a predominantly large port state, which is especially true for cruise shipping. Because of this, the US has evolved from relying on national regulations, policies and standards to relying on international standards developed through the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The US recognises and supports the work of IMO to develop common, well understood and robust international regulations, policies and standards for global shipping.
How does the US Coast Guard work with IMO and other bodies to ensure that cruise and ferry operators not only understand but are able to meet the constant stream of new regulatory requirements?
This is an excellent question and one that IMO has identified as a substantial issue as evidenced by its theme for 2014: ‘IMO Conventions: Effective Implementation’. In this regard, the Coast Guard contributes in a number of ways. First of all, this issue needs to be addressed when the regulations are drafted. The US strongly supports the need for any IMO regulations to be well founded and then well written and understood. I believe there is one area for improvement at IMO and that is to require cost-benefit analysis for new regulations. This is something that is required in the US for any Coast Guard regulations and I believe it would benefit IMO rulemaking. IMO needs to understand the impact worldwide when developing new regulations. Secondly, the US also contributes by supporting the IMO Technical Cooperation programme. We often provide people as members of IMO delegations that supply training requested by developing countries, to help them understand and implement IMO instruments. Lastly, the Coast Guard works with the affected industry here in the US to make sure they understand IMO regulations and how the US interprets and applies them.
What do you regard as the most relevant new practices and standards to have been introduced by global passenger operators since the Costa Concordia incident?
After the Costa Concordia incident, the cruise industry, through the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), undertook an operational safety review, for which they are to be commended. Through this review, the CLIA members adopted a number of operational safety measures. The most significant include enhanced muster and safety briefings for all passengers before departing on the cruise, improved training for lifeboat operations, and carriage of additional lifejackets and additional lifejacket storage locations to ensure availability for passengers and crew in an emergency. These, along with a number of additional operational measures recommended by CLIA, have been adopted by IMO and recommended for adoption by all cruise ship operators.
Please tell us how the US Coast Guard’s National Cruise Ship Center of Expertise supports the cruise lines in safe fleet operations.
The USCG Cruise Ship Center of Expertise (CSNCOE) was established to support safety, security and protection of the environment within the cruise ship sector. The primary focus is to raise the proficiency, capabilities and consistency of the Coast Guard in cruise ship safety, security and environmental exams. This is accomplished through specialised training, field support and daily email/telephonic/personal interaction with Coast Guard field units, policy makers and cruise industry stakeholders worldwide. CSNCOE personnel participate in cruise ship examinations and actively liaise with the cruise ship industry and classification societies to build and maintain expertise in the latest trends and developments in order to advise the Coast Guard on policy/regulatory issues. The cruise lines will benefit from this by experiencing professional, knowledgeable and efficient Coast Guard examinations; they will be confident that the Coast Guard will raise issues that are pertinent and well justified, and that the Coast Guard is willing to discuss and find positive resolutions.
What are the biggest challenges in addressing global ferry safety, especially in the light of recent tragic accidents?
The biggest challenge facing global ferry safety mainly concerns ferries in domestic service, primarily operated within countries that are challenged both from the standpoints of government and industry competency as well as workforce capacity to ensure the ferry operations within their countries are designed, maintained and operated safely. As these ferries are not subject to IMO’s international safety standards like ferries on international voyages, they do not benefit from having to be certified as meeting IMO’s international safety standards, nor are they subject to port state control. The international community is faced with the challenge of how to improve the safety in this market segment. One way is by providing assistance to those countries which have the will and desire to build the necessary maritime safety governance that will ensure the safety of their domestic ferries. But this is a difficult challenge and we look forward to the conference sponsored by IMO in the late spring of 2015 to explore how to address this issue.
What would you most like to see passenger ship designers focusing on to ensure these vessels meet the safety, security and environmental stewardship requirements of the future?
I would like to see designers of passenger ships, especially those carrying large number of passengers, incorporate design features that truly encompass the philosophy that the ship is its own best lifeboat and that it needs to be able to return to port safely after suffering a casualty. It is well known that even countries with significant resources will have a difficult time responding to a casualty, resulting in the ship having to be abandoned. When factoring in that often large passenger ships are now travelling in areas of the world and around countries where large rescue resources are not available, the concept of having to abandon the ship becomes a very daunting situation. I realise that building the ‘unsinkable’ ship is impossible; however, I do think that advances in damage stability survivability as well as compartment segregation and redundancy of vital and essential systems need to be employed. Relying only on design features is unrealistic. The human factor cannot be ignored. This means shipping companies need to have a well functioning safety management system and the crews need to be well trained. We cannot ‘design our way’ to the completely safe passenger ship.
In addition to his US Coast Guard duties, Jeff Lantz also represents the US at the IMO as head of delegation to both the Maritime Safety Committee and Marine Environmental Protection Committee and chairs the IMO Council