Page 45 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2024

Historically, the voyage towards an environmentally sound shipping sector began
approximately 50 years ago when the world recognised the need to protect our planet –
the marine environment, in particular – from all sources of pollution.

MARPOL:

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

OF A SUCCESS STORY

Speech by Accidents at sea, especially those with heavy loss of nasty storms, it was decided to move the WMD
Sir Efthymios E. of life and catastrophic pollution, always serve as a celebration to the last Thursday of September. This
Mitropoulos, KCMG grim reminder of the perils of the sea and as a strong time, the date was spot on.
Knight Commander
of the Order of St catalyst for action. Of the disasters that followed, the “Valdez” incident
Michael and St George, Of such accidents, the one that went down in the in Alaska was the most significant. From the volume-
Secretary-General annals of contemporary maritime history involved of-oil-escaping-into-the-sea point of view, signifi-
Emeritus of the IMO
and Charmain of the the “Exxon Valdez” supertanker. The fully laden ves- cant were those involving the following tankers: the
''Maria Tsakos'' sel was stranded off the coast of Alaska in March “Aegean Sea”, which ran aground on the coast off
Foundation, during the 1989. Its disastrous impact on that pristine sea area La Coruna, in December 1992; the “Braer”, which
conference organised
by Isalos.net on the and coast prompted Congress to require ships and also ran aground off the Shetlands in January 1993;
occasion of World tankers to be built with double hulls. the “Sea Empress”, a single hull tanker stranded
Maritime Day 2023 with The “Exxon Valdez” disaster had been preceded by off Milford Haven in February 1996; the “Erika”, off
the theme “MARPOL at
50 – Our commitment those of the “Torrey Canyon” supertanker off the the Western coast of France in December 1999; the
goes on” coast of Cornwall in March 1967 and the “Amoco “Prestige”, which broke in two and sank off the coast
Cadiz” crude carrier off the coast of Brittany in of Galicia in November 2002, and the “Castor. The
March 1978. Together, the three accidents resulted latter had become an outcast since the eve of 2021
in the spillage of almost half a million tonnes of crude when it suffered serious cracks on its deck while
oil into the sea. in heavy seas and fully laden condition. Fearing it
Allow me to make a brief remark since this confer- would sink and cause pollution, the “Castor” was
ence was convened on the occasion of this year’s not allowed to sail into several Mediterranean sea
celebration of World Maritime Day (WMD). On the ports for repairs and to discharge its cargo for almost
very same day in March 1967, when the “Amoco ten days, eventually prompting the IMO to adopt
Cadiz” ran aground off the northwest coast of guidelines on Places of Refuge. The aftermath of the
France, the IMO and the entire maritime community “Prestige” accident also contributed to that decision.
were celebrating the first WMD since the IMO had There were other incidents, which, although cat-
decided to include such a day in its calendar. Some astrophic in terms of their deleterious impact on
saw it as a bad omen. Adding to the unfortunate the marine environment, did not receive as much
timing, one year later, in March 1979, the “Olympic notoriety, especially those that had happened in the
Archer” tanker sank off Newfoundland’s coast at northern hemisphere.
the Gulf of St. Laurence’s entrance, spilling its entire The common thread between those disasters, and
crude oil cargo. Following the concerns raised by the others of lesser significance, was the way the IMO
residents of the south bank of the River Thames, and the industry responded to the weaknesses in
and upon realising that March in the northern the design, construction, equipment, crewing, and
hemisphere, especially in the North Atlantic, is full operation of ships – tankers in particular – which

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