OSLO-based Intertanko is optimistic that poorer classification societies will be eliminated when minimum industry standards, now being developed in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), come into force.
Mr Andreas Ugland, the chairman of the independent tanker owners' trade association, said he hoped those acting on behalf of flag states also would ensure a consistent standard when the standards were introduced.
''In spite of all the checks that have been established by governments and the industry, sub-standard ships continue to slip through the net,'' he said.
The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) had shown its concern at improving its own performance by imposing compulsory quality certification, he said in Intertanko's 1992 annual report.
Unified requirements for enhanced surveys had been developed and would be mandatory for all IACS members from July 1 this year, he added.
These also had been incorporated into the enhanced survey programme for oil tankers, which was being adopted by the IMO as guidelines in accordance with Regulation 13G of MARPOL (IMO's International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships),and which should achieve consistency in the conduct of surveys, he added.