Others sink in Erika’s wake

As oil-spill cleanup continues, Classification Societies are under attack, as in the call from the German Association of Captains’ and Ships’ Officers for their inclusion as liable following accidents. Although the primary responsibility for ship safety lies with the shipping company, many of these take no action unless forced by the threat of non-classification and, further, it is too easy to ‘class-hop’, the Erika having been classed by four societies at different times. The French classification society, Bureau Veritas calls for tighter structural checks in intermediate surveys.