LLOYD'S Register (LR) chairman Patrick O'Ferrall has called for a better understanding of problems of all parties involved in the shipping industry with a view to more systematically foreseeing risks and their potential consequences.
In his opening address at the Ship Shape 2000 Symposium in Sydney this week, Mr O'Ferrall said safety was achieved by good design, good construction and good operation of ships and depends, above all else, upon the skills, knowledge and effective communication between officers and crew.
He said in recent years the over-supply of tonnage and consequent downward pressure on freight rates had not helped to advance safety standards.
''It is important that we recognise that safety, or significant improvements in safety, cannot be attained purely by the action of individual bodies,'' Mr O'Ferrall said.
''It requires the participation of all the parties concerned, their awareness of the potential areas of concern and their willingness to communicate with each other.'' Mr O'Ferrall referred to the recent investigations into bulk-carrier losses in which it became evident there was a general lack of awareness of the potential effects of even minor structural damage in the event of a combination of circumstances such as fatigue cracking, corrosion and heavy weather.
There was also an apparent lack of awareness of the consequences of loading ships' holds above their design limits, which could create accelerated fatigue damage and could result in widespread cracking which was often seen in bulk carriers.
And while corrosion associated with the carriage of high-sulphur coals was a known factor, its potentially disabling effects on the ship structure in uncoated holds were not, its seems, fully appreciated.