ICS chairman: Shipping regulations could cost $500B over next decade

   Masamichi Morooka, chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, told attendees of Shipping 2014, the annual conference of the Connecticut Maritime Association, that costs of complying with new regulations for shipping could reach $500 billion over the next decade.
   “We are about to enter an era where the timing of the introduction of regulation conspires against the well-being of the industries,” he said, saying the simultaneous introduction of regulations having to do with reducing sulfur oxide emissions, requiring ballast water to be treated before discharge, and possible mechanisms for charging for carbon dioxide emissions will result in huge costs to an industry already struggling to recover from the global recession.
   Morooka, president and chief executive officer of NYK Bulk and Project Carriers, said what’s missing from the regulatory debate is a system for a “proper cost-benefit analysis.”
   Morooka also drew attention to the need for countries to provide a “place of refuge” to ships that have been involved in collisions or fires, or encountered storms, so that the safety of the crew can be assured, salvors can stabilize a ship and cargo and environmental damage can be contained.
   He noted that the International Maritime Organization has put into place guidelines for the provision of places of refuge and recommended that the decision to grant refuge be separated from political control.
   But, he said sometimes, coastal states are unwilling to offer refuge and ships involved in casualties are towed out to sea or not allowed close to shore for weeks.
   “The time is long overdue when all IMO member states should accept their responsibility in support of the safe carriage of goods by sea and make adequate provisions for those occasions when things go wrong.”