C V Subba Rao
The Titanic sank in calm and clear weather conditions—albeit at night in the Atlantic Ocean. Motorists used to city driving in India, will find it difficult to fathom why the ship could not see the iceberg in such clear visibility. The iceberg was seen almost at the last minute by the two lookouts seated in the “crow’s nest”.
The accident resulted in one of the first regulations in respect of Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). The naval architect who designed the ship and claimed it was unsinkable also perished with the vessel. His claim was evidently taken quite seriously: the vessel was not provided with enough lifeboats. Ships built since then are provided with lifeboats whose seating capacity must match the ships’ complement carrying capacity.
The sinking of the single hull tanker Erika in late 1999 brought forth a series of measures in the shipping business, especially the oil trade. Issues
such as the phasing out of older tankers, single hull vessels in particular, over a specified time schedule gained ground and owners with strong interests in shipping worked steadily to replace their fleet.
Following the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) set in place new security-related procedures for the industry and the ISPS Code (International Ship & Port Facility Security Code) will come into force on 1 July 2004. It calls for ships and ports to incorporate certain safety procedures, train designated officers ashore and on board ships as Company Security Officers (CSO) and Ship Security Officers (SSO) with verification of the systems by Recognized Security Organizations (RSO) nominated by the member governments, at pre-determined intervals.
Even as issues like the Condition Assessment Program (CAP), the Ballast Water Management Plans, and the Ship Emergency Response Service were brought to the fore by industry majors, Sanmar Shipping marched ahead and implemented the plans under approval by Lloyd’s Register by 2001. Sanmar Shipping is the first shipping company in India to gain Lloyd’s Register Ballast Water Management Plan Certification.
Efforts are vigorously underway to implement the ISPS Code. The company has now arranged with Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to train in-house Company Security Officers, and take the first step forward in implementing the code.
In a related development, Sanmar Shipping’s representatives, P Viswanathan and C V Subba Rao met the vetting departments of oil companies BP and Shell in London in May 2003. Both BP and Shell have acknowledged that Sanmar vessels have not given any room for complaint. Sanmar’s officers and crew on board the vessels have also come in for high praise in this regard.
Sanmar believes in quality in every sphere of its activity. The effort to restructure the fleet portfolio is one such initiative. While a significant amount of work has been completed, involving sale of older bulk tonnage, Sanmar is actively pursuing a strong restructuring strategy, which over the next few months will involve reducing the age profile of the tanker fleet. Sanmar Shipping believes it is on track to rejuvenate this volatile and transnational business of the Group.
The author is Assistant Vice President, Sanmar Shipping.