Marine Traffic Administration—a Confusion of Arts

Extract

In the matter of marine traffic in confluence and approach waters we are, it seems, in a state of modest confusion. Society and the ecologists demand protection from pollution and coastal catastrophe. Operators of ships do not want to be put to inconvenience and expense, which in their view may not be justified. Their Masters, on the other hand, are largely in favour of some changes, even approaching compulsion, in areas where they know from long experience that something needs to be done to improve the safety factor. The underwriter does not seem to involve himself directly in safety. His business is, after all, in the accurate prediction of total risk, not its elimination. The statistician cries out for facts which nobody seems to want to give him, in response to the plea that his art may throw up some unseen lead. Governments and the shipping industries in so many countries seem loath to step in any positive direction, being so sensitive to the lobbies and interests that support them.