The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“WORLD MARITIME DAY 1995” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S14565-S14566 on Sept. 28, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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 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.
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