The world’s oceans have been a witness to several maritime accidents, some of which were more catastrophic than others, taking hundreds to thousands of lives. Most of them were caused by human error, negligence or systemic failures. These accidents, however, changed the maritime domain forever as they led to the introduction of international laws that now govern seafaring.
The rules and regulations introduced due to cases like the sinking of the Titanic or the famous Torrey Canyon Oil Spill have shaped maritime safety and asked for greater accountability from stakeholders while also focusing on environmental protection.
1. The Sinking of RMS Titanic & Birth of SOLAS
On its maiden voyage in April 1912, Titanic, which was deemed ‘unsinkable’, hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank, killing over 1500 of the estimated 2224 passengers and crew onboard the ship.
The loss was significant and revealed several flaws in maritime regulations of the time. Investigations into the Titanic sinking found that it carried insufficient lifeboats, which were enough for only 1178 people, per outdated regulations based on ship tonnage and not passenger capacity.
Titanic had Marconi wireless telegraphy, but its single radio operator was not on duty 24 hours of the day, which led to the ship missing important ice warnings from nearby vessels. If this information might have been conveyed to the bridge, then maybe the collision could have been avoided.
The ship’s crew were not properly trained for emergencies, and when disaster struck, they panicked, and with no clear orders, lifeboats were only half filled, and some overturned before they were lowered into the waters. The ‘women and children first’ protocol also led to underutilisation of the lifeboats.
The belief among the passengers and the crew that the ship was one of its kind and unsinkable led to complacency and carelessness on the part of the crew, leading to decisions that might have been avoided if they had been more cautious.
After this accident, there was a global outcry, and in November 1913, a conference on safety at sea was held in London, leading to the adoption of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in 1914, which remains the most important treaty for maritime safety to this day.
SOLAS made it compulsory for ships to carry sufficient lifeboats to accommodate every person onboard. Ships also had to have a 24-hour radio watch so that distress signals and navigational warnings were never missed.
It also introduced strict requirements for ship construction, especially regarding the number and the height of watertight bulkheads to prevent rapid flooding and enhance buoyancy in case of hull breach.
SOLAS also focused on the need for organising regular emergency drills for crew members of ships to prepare them for any such emergencies.
2. The Torrey Canyon Oil Spill & MARPOL
Before 1967, there had been oil spill accidents; however, none could compare to the event which unfolded in March when supertanker Torrey Canyon ran aground on the Seven Stones Reef between the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall, England.
The tanker was loaded with 120,000 tonnes of crude oil, and when it broke apart, it released a black tide of oil which coated coastlines in the U.K and France, devastating marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
When this incident happened, there was no established international protocol for responding to a spill of this magnitude, which led to attempts such as cleanups which did more harm than good, like the decision to bomb the wreck by the Royal Air Force to burn the remaining oil.
Due to a lack of proper regulations, questions regarding who was responsible for the spill or who would pay for the cleanup and compensation became complicated legal challenges.
At that time, laws emphasised the safety of life and navigation, but the preservation of the marine environment was not a big concern.
Two years later, in 1969, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage was established, making shipowners liable for oil pollution damage, to a certain limit.
However, the most important development was the establishment of The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) in 1973.
Modified by the 1978 protocol, it is the most important international treaty regulating pollution from ships.
MARPOL brought regulations to prevent pollution by oil, other noxious substances, harmful packaged substances, sewage, and garbage.
It set standards for ship design, i.e segregated ballast tanks to prevent the oil mixing with the ballast water, and also laid down the kind of operational process and equipment to minimise the damage.
The Torrey Canyon oil spill led to the adoption of the belief that ships must not only be safe for human life but also marine environments.
3. The Amoco Cadiz Oil Spill & STCW
A decade after the Torrey Canyon, another supertanker, the Amoco Cadiz, ran aground due to a steering gear failure, which left the ship adrift.
It spilt its entire 220,000 tonnes of crude oil off the coast of Brittany, France, in March 1978. This disaster was twice the size of Torrey Canyon and led to significant updates to SOLAS and MARPOL Conventions, in relation to tanker safety, including improved maintenance regimes for steering gear and propulsion systems and the creation of Port State Control in 1982.
It also led to the establishment of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) 1978, setting minimum qualification standards for crew.
The damage caused by this incident exceeded the compensation limits set by the existing conventions. This left many victims without full recompense and highlighted the inadequacy of the financial limits for environmental damage.
The incident increased the limit of compensation under the CLC and FUND Conventions. They also widened the definition of pollution damage to include environmental restoration costs.
4. The Herald of Free Enterprise Capsizing & ISM Code
RORO ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized after leaving Belgium’s Zeebrugge port on March 6, 1987, claiming 193 lives. The reason for the disaster was not mechanical failures but carelessness and lack of communication and a deficient safety culture in the operating company.
Investigation found that the bow doors had been left open, allowing water to enter as the ferry began its journey. The assistant bosun, whose duty was to close the doors, was asleep. There was no system in place to check if the doors had been closed.
This tragedy shifted the focus of maritime safety from technical regulations to human factors. It led to the development of International Safety Management (ISM) Code in 1993, which became compulsory for most ships in 1998.
The ISM Code requires shipping companies to implement a Safety Management System (SMS) to prevent environmental pollution and also ensure safety. It has several components. For instance, companies have to define their safety and environmental objectives and clearly delineate roles and responsibilities related to safety.
It also calls for a Designated Person Ashore, who acts as a link between the ship and shore management, ensuring the effective implementation of the SMS.
ISM also lays down plans and drills for many emergencies and emphasises the need to conduct regular audits.
5. Erika Oil Spill & Introduction of Erika I, II and III packages
In 1999, tanker Erika broke apart in a storm off the coast of France and spilt more than 10,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and polluted hundreds of kilometres of coastline.
The event led to changes in maritime laws within the European Union through the introduction of Erika I, II and III legislative packages.
These measures were meant to strengthen the ship inspections, certifications and establishment of control methods within the EU.
The accident revealed the risks associated with single-hull tankers, leading to a push for their replacement with double-hull designs, which were deemed to be safer.
They also led to reevaluation of civil liability for maritime oil spills and widened the accountability to include others, such as charterers and not just shipowners
It also improved the system to properly compensate the victims of oil spills.
Conclusion
The five incidents mentioned in the article changed the course of maritime laws and regulations. They highlighted the weaknesses of the older systems and brought about the much-needed changes to save not only human lives but also safeguard the marine environment from pollution. The disasters, though catastrophic, led to the implementation of vital laws and conventions like SOLAS, MARPOL, ISM Code, etc and ultimately made seafaring more regulated and safe. Even today, as new technologies are rolled out, maritime laws are updated regularly.
You might also like to read-
- Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) – The Ultimate Guide
- Understanding Watertight Bulkheads In Ships: Construction and SOLAS Regulations
- Types of Lifeboat Release Mechanisms & SOLAS Requirements for Lifeboats
- SOLAS requirement for Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS)