[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 153 (Thursday, September 28, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14565-S14566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        WORLD MARITIME DAY 1995

 Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, as you may know, World Maritime 
Day 1995 will be observed this week, and the theme this year focuses on 
the achievements and challenges of the International Maritime 
Organization [IMO].
  The IMO was created under the auspices of the United Nations in 1948, 
and over the past 47 years has led the way to significant improvements 
in safety in the maritime industry and reductions in marine pollution 
around the world.
  I ask that the letter sent to me by Coast Guard Capt. Guy Goodwin, 
which brought World Maritime Day 1995 to my attention, be printed in 
the Record.
  Captain Goodwin provided me with a copy of the message delivered by 
IMO Secretary-General William O'Neil to commemorate World Maritime Day, 
and I ask that this, too, be printed in the Record.
  I believe both Captain Goodwin and IMO Secretary-General O'Neil make 
important points about the need to continue to strive for safer 
shipping and cleaner oceans, and I encourage other Senators to read 
these messages.
  The material follows:

                                     Department of Transportation,


                                             U.S. Coast Guard,

     Hon. Ted Stevens,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Oceans on Commerce, Science, and 
         Transportation, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The International Maritime Organization 
     has announced that World Maritime Day 1995 will be observed 
     during the week of September 25 to 29, 1995. The theme for 
     this year's observance is ``50th Anniversary of the United 
     Nations: IMO's Achievements and Challenges''. As you know, 
     Mr. Chairman, IMO has succeeded in winning the support of the 
     Maritime world by being pragmatic, effective and above all by 
     concentrating on the technical issues related to safety at 
     sea and the prevention of pollution from ships, topics that 
     are of most concern to its member states IMO's priorities are 
     often described in the slogan ``safer shipping and cleaner 
     oceans.''
       Until recently the indications were that IMO'S efforts to 
     improve safety and reduce pollution were paying off. The rate 
     of serious casualties was falling and the amount of all and 
     other pollutants entering the sea was decreasing quite 
     dramatically. But recently there has been a disturbing rise 
     in accidents and our fear is that, if nothing is done, the 
     progress we have diligently fought for over the last few 
     decades will be lost. To avert this danger, IMO has taken a 
     number of actions including establishing a sub-committee to 
     improve the way IMO regulations are implemented by flag 
     States, encouraging the establishment of regional port State 
     control arrangements, adopting a new mandatory International 
     Safety Management Code, and adopting amendments to the 
     convention dealing with standards of training, certification 
     and watchkeeping for seafarers. When these and other measures 
     are added together they make an impressive package that 
     should make a significant contribution to safety and 
     pollution prevention in the years to come. The Coast Guard 
     has been an active player at IMO regarding these and other 
     matters.
       Enclosed is a message from the Secretary-General of the 
     IMO, Mr. W. A. O'Neil, marking the observance of World 
     Maritime Day 1995.
           Sincerely,

                                                G. T. Goodwin,

                                                    Captain, USCG,
                                     Chief, Congressional Affairs.
       Encl: World Maritime Day Message of Secretary General 
     O'Neil. -----

                        World Maritime Day 1995

       Fifty years ago the United Nations was created. When people 
     consider the United Nations today, most think only of the 
     headquarters in New York or peacekeeping missions around the 
     world. Very few people know that the United Nations indeed 
     has another side.
       This side, of course, consists of the specialized agencies 
     of the U.N. system which deal with such matters as the 
     development of telecommunications, the safety of aviation, 
     the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the improvement of 
     education, the world's weather, and international shipping, 
     the particular responsibility of the International Maritime 
     Organization.
       IMO was established by means of a convention which was 
     adopted under the auspices of the United Nations in 1948 and 
     today has 152 Member States. Its most important treaties 
     cover more than 98 percent of world shipping.
       IMO succeeded in winning the support of the maritime world 
     by being pragmatic, effective and above all by concentrating 
     on the technical issues related to safety at sea and the 
     prevention of pollution from ships, topics that are of most 
     concern to its Member States. IMO's priorities are often 
     described in the slogan ``safer shipping and cleaner 
     oceans.''
       But today I do not want to focus on past successes. Instead 
     I would like to talk to you about the future. Nobody can 
     predict precisely what will happen in the shipping world 
     during the next few years but there are indications that, 
     from a safety point of view, we should be especially 
     vigilant.
       The difficult economic conditions of the last two decades 
     have discouraged shipowners from ordering new tonnage and 
     there is evidence that, in some cases, the maintenance of 
     vessels has suffered. The combination of age and poor 
     maintenance has obvious safety implications. Shipping as an 
     industry is also undergoing great structural changes that 
     have resulted in the fleets of the traditional flags 
     declining in size while newer shipping nations have emerged.
       IMO has no vested interest in what flag a ship flies or 
     what country its crew members come from. But we are 
     interested in the quality of the operation. We certainly can 
     have no objection to shipowners saving money--unless those 
     savings are made at the expense of safety or the environment. 
     If that happens then we are very concerned indeed.
       Until recently the indications were that IMO's efforts to 
     improve safety and reduce pollution were paying off. The rate 
     of serious casualties was falling and the amount of oil and 
     other pollutants entering the sea was decreasing quite 
     dramatically. But recently there has been a disturbing rise 
     in accidents and our fear is that, if nothing is done, the 
     progress we have diligently fought for over the last few 
     decades will be lost. To avert this danger IMO has taken a 
     number of actions.
       We have set up a special sub-committee to improve the way 
     IMO regulations are implemented by flag States.
       We have encouraged the establishment of regional port State 
     control arrangements so that all countries which have 
     ratified IMO Conventions and have the right to inspect 
     foreign ships to make sure that they meet IMO requirements 
     can do this more effectively.
       We have adopted a new mandatory International Safety 
     Management Code to improve standards of management and 
     especially to make sure that safety and environmental issues 
     are never overlooked or ignored.
       We have recently adopted amendments to the convention 
     dealing with standards of training, certification and 
     watchkeeping for seafarers. The Convention has been 
     modernized and restructured, but most important of 

[[Page S 14566]]
     all, new provisions have been introduced which will help to make sure 
     that the Convention is properly implemented.
       When these and other measures are added together they make 
     an impressive package that should make a significant 
     contribution to safety and pollution prevention in the years 
     to come. But I think we need something more.
       IMO's standards have been so widely adopted that they 
     affect virtually every ship in the world. Therefore, in 
     theory, the casualty and pollution rates of flag States 
     should be roughly the same but in actual practice they vary 
     enormously. That can only be because IMO regulations are put 
     into effect differently from country to country. The measures 
     I have just outlined will help to even out some of these 
     differences, but they will only really succeed if everybody 
     involved in shipping wants them to.
       That sounds simple enough. Surely everybody is interested 
     in safety and the prevention of pollution and will do what 
     they can to promote them? To a certain degree perhaps they 
     are--but the degree of commitment seems to vary considerably. 
     The majority of shipowners accept their responsibilities and 
     conduct their operations with integrity at the highest level.
       Some others quite deliberately move their ships to 
     different trading routes if Governments introduce stricter 
     inspections and controls: they would rather risk losing the 
     ship and those on board than to undertake and pay for the 
     cost of carrying out the repairs they know to be necessary. 
     Some Governments are also quite happy to take the fees for 
     registering ships under their flag, but fail to ensure that 
     safety and environmental standards are enforced.
       The idea that a ship would willingly be sent to sea in an 
     unsafe condition and pose a danger to its crew is difficult 
     to believe and yet it does happen.
       The reasons for this are partly historical. We have become 
     so used to the risks involved in seafaring that we have come 
     to see them as a cost that has to be paid, a price which is 
     exacted for challenging the wrath of the oceans. We must 
     change this attitude, this passive acceptance of the 
     inevitability of disaster. When a ship sinks we should all 
     feel a sense of loss and failure, because accidents are not 
     inevitable--they can and should be prevented.
       The actions taken by IMO during the last few years will 
     undoubtedly help to improve safety and thereby save lives, 
     but they will have an even more dramatic effect if they help 
     to change the culture of all those engaged in shipping and 
     make safety not just a vague aspiration but a part of every 
     day living, so that it comes as second nature. This is a 
     clear, precise target--a target that is within our grasp if 
     we continue to put our minds and energies to the task.
       Fifty years ago, when the United Nations was being planned, 
     few people believed that there would ever be an effective 
     international organization devoted to shipping safety. But, 
     in the same spirit that led to the founding of the United 
     Nations, IMO itself was born. The vision which led to this 
     has been realized and seafarers of the world have benefitted 
     as a result.
       However, casualties still do occur and much remains to be 
     done by IMO, by its Member Governments, by the shipping 
     industry and by the seafarers who crew the world's ships, in 
     fact, by all of us involved in shipping. The waters are not 
     uncharted, the course is known, the destination is clear. It 
     is up to us to conduct the voyage in such a way that our 
     objective of maximum safety is in fact realized.

                          ____________________