The latest question we put to our anonymous panel and all of you is: Should cargo owners /shippers /receivers be fined or even named and shamed for employing sub-standard ships? And….If you believe it all boils down to price, how do you break the cycle?
Here’s what some of our panel had to say:
Shipowner Charterer: “It is definitely a cycle that needs to be broken, not just with sub-standard ships, but also government-funded carriers that do not recognize market value.
With sub-standard ships, I think this has to come from flag states to govern and maintain standards. The age of a vessel does not always matter as much as the condition she is kept in. As long as there is a certain leniency in place, or people choose to close one eye, the cycle will keep perpetuating itself.”
Business Owner: “Yes and terminals, they are the demand, if they want cheap ships and something goes wrong they cant walk away from it. It is a global business that will always be faced with shipowners willing to provide a sub-standard ship and be able to walk away into the shadows if something goes wrong.
Whoever did not look into the ship’s history or do due diligence on the manager and owner should have to foot the bill. If they didn’t charter it, it wouldn’t be sitting in your port with an abandoned crew, no food or spares, and with no owner to be seen.”
S&P Broker: “There are very few examples of substandard ships these days, as long as the ships are classed with IACS class societies. It doesn’t boil down to price, it boils down to priorities.”
Read more industry opinions and leave your comments and feedback anonymously on our Chatham Chats Forum.
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