10 Consider the following additional information on the safety of roll-on/roll-off ferries¹> When it comes to formulating legal safety requirements, it is the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that has an important part to play. This international organization is responsible for adopting legislation for ships. IMO knew as early as 1981 that if water entered the car decks of roll-on/roll-off ships, they could be lost in a rapid capsize (Van Poortvliet, 1999, p. 52). The IMO did not adjust its regulations at the time to solve this problem, while a simple solution was available. Because legislation adopted by the IMO needs to be implemented by governments, only governments accepting an IMO convention have to implement it. When making a convention it is, therefore, important to make it acceptable for as many governments as possible, otherwise only a small percentage of all fleets will be obliged to abide by the convention. A shipping company can decide to sail under the flag of another country which has not ratified an IMO convention, if complying with the convention costs a lot of money. So there is a certain amount of pressure on the IMO not to issue safety requirements that are too tight. Apart from the IMO, insurance and classification companies also have a part to play in the formulation of safety requirements. For hull insurance bought by operating companies 274 The Distribution of Responsibility in Engineering from insurance companies such as Lloyd's of London, a ship needs to be classified. Classification organizations are private organizations that have to monitor compliance with legislation during construction and the certification of sea worthiness during a ship's lifetime. Only the equipment and the construction are taken into account by the classification organizations, not passenger safety. There is little incentive for shipping companies to ask for, or for shipyards to design ships, that are even safer than required by IMO conventions and hull insurance regula- tions. When disasters occur, the investigation that follows usually concludes that it was a human error that led to the disaster. Little attention is given to the design of the ship as long as on completion it complies with regulations. a. Discuss for each of the following actors whether they are responsible (blameworthy) for the inherent instability of roll-on/roll-off ferries. Use the conditions for responsibility discussed in Section 1.3. ⚫ Maritime engineers designing these ferries ⚫ The IMO ⚫ Governments Insurance companies Classification organizations Shipping companies Shipyards b. Is this a problem of many hands? c. How could the active responsibility for increasing the safety of roll-on/roll-off ferries best be allocated?