TANKER SAFETY ISSUES - ITOPF

A Voice For SafetyGood morning. It is, indeed, a pleasure to be here in the beautiful city of Shanghaiand to have this opportunity to share with you the views of the Oil CompaniesInternational Marine Forum (OCIMF) on the very important topic of safetransportation systems.The key points I plan to cover in this presentation are:1. A brief overview of OCIMF2. Tanker quality3. Enforcement of existing legislation4. Double hulls5. Structural integrity6. Port and terminal safety7. Maritime safety – a holistic approachFor those who may not be familiar with OCIMF, I would like to take a moment todescribe our organisation and it’s purpose.The Oil Companies International Marine Forum was established in 1970 in responseto increasing public awareness of marine pollution by oil in the wake of, what wasthen, the world’s worst oil spill – the grounding of the Torrey Canyon in 1967. OCIMFcurrently has 55 Members including virtually every major oil company in the world.The principal thrust of our activities is the same now as it was in 1970 and that is theprovision to our members, and all those involved in the business of oil transportationby sea, of high quality technical advice on all aspects of the safe andenvironmentally responsible operation of oil tankers and terminals.OCIMF discharges its safety and environmental responsibilities through participationat all IMO and IOPC Fund meetings, where OCIMF has consultative status and isrecognized as an authority on marine matters.Through the publication of our own internationally recognised guidelines andinformation papers prepared by technical experts from member companies OCIMFhas established itself as an industry leader in safety and environmental protection.Many of these guides have become in themselves benchmarks for the oil industry.Let us now move on for a brief discussion on tanker quality.