HE00905 - ADVANCING VESSEL QUALITY IN HARD TIMES; A BROADER VISION

A discussion of some of the issues involved in improving the safety and environmental performance of the commercial shipping industry.

World Maritime Day and such occasions serve the useful purpose of taking the regulatory pulse; we are able to compare notes, and the Secretary- General of the IMO delivers an overview of the general condition of shipping as seen from the standpoint of our regulatory guardians. Admiral Mitropoulos was joined by Admiral Allen, the Commandant of the U. S. Coast Guard, and while there was considerable discussion of emissions control, piracy and other matters of current urgency, the common concern of the private and public sectors - the challenge of quality maintenance in the face of the grave economic crisis facing the industry - was a major focus of attention