OECD committee discusses incentives for safe ships

OECD committee discusses incentives for safe ships    Government delegates at the Maritime Transport Committee meeting held at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development discussed a proposal to provide a system of incentives for shipowners who adopt safe shipping practices as a new tool to reduce substandard shipping.
   The Maritime Transport Committee met in Paris on Nov. 13-14 to review work undertaken, and consider projects on maritime safety, maritime security and the question of the lack of transparency in the ownership and control of ships.
   Chaired by Bruce Carlton, associate administrator at the U.S. Maritime Administration, the OECD committee further discussed proposals to develop, with the industry, the concept of incentives for quality shipowners. Such incentives were one of the elements of the committee’s “Policy Statement on Substandard Shipping” released in April 2002.
   “This caused quite a bit of interest,” said Danny Scorpecci, principal administrator at the transport division of the OECD.
   The committee has started discussing implementation issues for a system of incentives, including the possibility of allowing the shipowner to have fewer inspections and reduce the port stays of its ships. The committee has not made decisions on the incentive issue, yet.
   At the Paris meeting, the government delegates also discussed the question of flag state performance, or the proper enforcement of controls of ships registered by each flag administration. While the OECD committee supports the current work of the International Maritime Organization to tighten flag controls, it is also considering complementary measures.
   Poor flag controls are regarded as one of the main causes of substandard shipping. The OECD committee identified the flag administration and the shipowner as the two key influences on substandard shipping.
   Subject to further discussions in the OECD committee, the organization may convene a meeting next year, involving the industry, to discuss maritime safety. The OECD committee will declassify some contents of its confidential reports on maritime safety.
   However, the OECD maritime committee has shelved radical maritime safety measures presented by the OECD secretariat at its previous meeting in June, after certain governments expressed concerns over the extent of the measures.
   The OECD committee also chose to carry out more work on the maritime security issue, including the ownership and control of ships, the lack of transparency of ownership, and potential effects on the prevention of terrorist attacks using ships.