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While the international community has placed primary responsibility for maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the Maritime Transport Committee also places strong emphasis on these issues. It has worked for some years to support the actions of the IMO, as well as flag and port states, through economic and policy analysis and political support.
In May 1993, the OECD issued a statement by OECD Member countries on Enforcement of International Rules and Standards. The statement expressed the determination that all flag states should demonstrate that they are effectively carrying out their supervisory responsibility, since non-compliance with applicable international rules and standards leads to unfair and thus unacceptable competition.
Moreover, in accordance with decisions taken by the IMO, the statement conveys to all countries the need to respect obligations, and make transparent, the work of their maritime administration with regard to how they implement and comply with IMO conventions and rules on safety and pollution control. It also calls on the IMO to consider introducing a programme of action to address the problem of sub-standard shipping and to monitor flag-state implementation of IMO conventions and rules.
In addition to OECD Members, the following countries have subscribed to the statement: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.
The Committee also has focused on establishing a quantitative link between non-compliance with internationally agreed rules and regulations and the unfair and illegal economic benefits which accrue to those owners who do not comply with those rules. The OECD's investigation is comprised of three prongs, the first looks at the contravention of rules relating to safey, the second addresses non-compliance with maritime environmental regulations and the third will investigate non-compliance with crewing requirements.
The first two components of this work are complete. Details on the first can be found in the Committee's report on Competitive Advantages Obtained by Some Shipowners as a Result of Non-observance of Applicable International Rules and Standards. That report establishes that non-compliance, as well as entailing risks for the safety of life at sea and for the protection of the environment, also distorts competition in the shipping market. The second report " Cost Savings Stemming from Non-Compliance with International Environmental Regulations in the Maritime Sector", reinforces the findings of the above report and provides a quantitative assessment of this unfair advantage.
Another related report " The Costs to Users of Substandard Shipping", found that the majority of parties that are directly involved in the use of substandard shipping do not apparently incur significant costs that they need to bear themselves. This is principally because of cover provided by the insurance industry. The report and comments received from industry and government were forwarded to the IMO in support of its work in this area.
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