THE fight to rid the seas of sub-standard and unsafe ships must go through the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), says an Australian transport executive.
BHP Transport group general manager Lance Hockridge said the action, which needed the backing of classification societies and port states, had to be made known to the industry.
Sub-standard shipping was no longer acceptable, he emphasised.
''It is not something that is going to happen easily or overnight but that is the core of the Australian inquiry into sub-standard shipping,'' he told the Hongkong Shipowners Association yesterday, referring to a report released last year entitled Ships of Shame.
Mr Hockridge said he supported an inquiry recommendation that port state inspection records should be made public.
The inquiry said world shipping safety was locked in a vicious circle: owners ran substandard ships to cut costs, competitive pressures meant flag states and classification societies failed to observe standards, and a lack of regulation meant standards slipped further.
