A shipowner has urged the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to consider development of a new design for double-hull tankers which could reduce survey requirements.
Wah Kwong Shipping Holdings chairman Frank Chao said the new-design vessels also would be safer and repair costs would be lower.
The IMO and IACS already had done sterling work in many areas, including the programme of enhanced surveys which had shown clear signs of success, he said.
But this had been achieved at a significant cost to shipowners in increased survey costs and time, and also considerable ongoing cost and off-hire time for repairs of ships as presently constructed.
'One must consider a complementary approach which would ultimately lead to the reduction of these additional survey requirements as well as to a substantial saving in repair and associated off-hire costs,' he said.
Mr Chao, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Marine Technology, said he hoped the industry and regulatory bodies, including the IMO, would debate constructively the concept of double-skinned dry-bulk carriers.
Single-skinned vessels were vulnerable and weak relative to their structures, and double-skinned vessels offered significant safety and operational advantages.