Stricter regulations on ferry safety urged

Major European ferry companies operate to a “very high standard” but their ships can still be made safer, Allan Graveson of the Nautilus International sailors’ union said.

Mr Graveson cited recent European Union research suggesting the ferry industry was prepared to accept the risk of a disaster in which 1,000 people die happening once every 20 years.

He said there was a “stunned silence” when the findings were presented to the London-based International Maritime Organisation, the United Nations agency that aims to improve the safety of ships, in January.

He said: “That is of concern that we are prepared to accept such, even at this time. We need to notch up safety, lift it up a step. The present standard is not acceptable.”

Mr Graveson, Nautilus International’s senior national secretary, said the international regulatory system for shipping was “by definition, a compromise” and did not enforce the highest standards possible.

He said there was reluctance to introduce tougher rules after the 1987 Herald of Free Enterprise disaster which killed 193 people, and it took the 1994 Estonia ferry tragedy, which left more than 850 people dead, to bring about change.

“With things like the Costa Concordia (the cruise chip which capsized off Italy in January), they put it down to one person and say the ships are generally safe.

“We’re in a dangerous environment. What we’ve got to do is mitigate the risk.”

Mr Graveson said European ferry operators like P&O and Stena Line built their vessels “to the highest possible standard” but argued that passenger ship evacuation systems could be improved.

He criticised a recent Government consultation on the possibility of removing the requirement for ferries to carry an equipment locker containing emergency equipment such as rope ladders.

“There’s a competition between Government departments to see how much legislation they can take off the statute books,” he said.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The requirement to carry an equipment locker is just one of a wide range of maritime regulations put up for review as part of our recent maritime red-tape challenge. No decisions have yet been taken.”