Container Ships and Regulations: 2.2.7
How many individual containers move across the ocean?
600m+ per yr - 50,000 at any one time
How has the container vessel fleet changed?
1988 - largest vessel carried over 4000 containers
2016 - 19,000 containers on largest vessel
Average size ship has increased 90% in past 20 yrs
Total fleet size in 2015 has increased by 5x that of 2000
Reasons for decline in shipping industry:
Air commerce
Shipping companies built more new vessels than the global demand needed
global trade growth has dropped
Supply chains shortening as companies are restoring (retiring production back to original country) operations due to rising costs and risk
Shipbreaking: dismantling a obsolete ship for parts or raw material extraction - vast majority in Bangladesh and India
Regulations for carrying oil at sea:
SOLAs (safety of life at sea):
Fire safety equipment - due to increased risk of fire as oil is carried
Equipment duplication - in case of mechainal failure
Mandatory towing & life boat arrangements
Enhanced inspections
How do oil tankers clean out oil tanks?
Illegal for ships to use sea water to clean out tanks - as it would lead to signif pollution
Instead use crude oil cargo itself sprayed ate high pressure onto the tank walls and surfaces
Significance of the Prestige disaster:
Spain's worst ecological disaster
125 tonnes per day poured out after the ship sunk
Environmental damage worst off the coast of Galicia - changed need from single to double hulls