By
Guest |
The regulatory focus at IMO tends to go in cycles. After 9/11 in 2001, the priority was security. Within a couple of years it began to shift to environmental issues – notably sulphur emissions, the Energy Efficiency Design Index, ballast water and waste water. Right now the accent is on passenger safety, partly stemming from the Costa Concordia incident but also due to concerns about the damage stability of ro-ro designs, which have flagged contradictions between SOLAS and the Stockholm Agreement.
These highly technical issues are not easily understood by those of us who are not naval architects. Consequently Interferry has established a working group of technical experts amongst its membership to track and shape our input on regulatory developments. Such topics are high on the agenda for our thirty eighth annual conference in Malta from 5-9 October 2013.
The implications of new safety regulations will be discussed by a panel of experts from UK-based P&O Ferries, Norway’s Color Line and Brittany Ferries, together with Johan Roos, Interferry executive director of European Union and IMO affairs.
Their think-tank follows a session on damage stability, starting with a layman’s guide from Stuart Ballantyne of Sea Transport Solutions, Australia. This will lead to analysis of the challenges specific to ro-pax vessels by world-leading academic Dracos Vassalos, professor of maritime safety and director of the ship safety research centre at the UK’s Strathclyde University.
He will outline how the introduction of probabilistic, goals-based regulations in place of a rules-based approach allowed vessels to be built with a known safety level for the first time in maritime legislation history – but also brought to light quantifiable indications of the vulnerability of ro-pax ships in the damaged condition. His warning will be illustrated with examples of dangerous practices during operation, a ‘box ticking’ approach to the International Safety Management Code and lack of preparedness for emergencies.
The challenge for the ferry industry will be to understand and come to grips with what the academics are saying about overall passenger ship survivability. Fortunately Interferry has established a strong capability in its European office to monitor and respond to this evolving regulatory debate.
Although the agenda is shifting, the implementation of new environmental regulations remains a constant issue. The Malta conference will recognise this with a session on emissions and efficiencies, covering a combined batteries and scrubbers solution, a trial use of methanol fuel, a performance-enhancing new bow form and a study by the Green Ship of the Future partnership.
Inevitably, safety and environmental issues will be major themes among several of our special guest speakers. They include Christian Breinholt, chairman of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee, with a keynote address calling for efficient cooperation between regulators and industry; former SAS airline pilot turned operational safety consultant Jarle Gimmestad, who will highlight lessons from the aviation industry; and Bjorn Rosengren, president & CEO of Wärtsilä, with a review of energy efficiency challenges.
Their insider input should prove invaluable in helping us face the never-ending circle of challenges in our industry.
This article appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2013 edition of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read other articles you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats.