Publisher's Synopsis
This title reviews different international conventions, US laws, and policy considerations, discusses regulatory strategies, and helps promote the use of better science, engineering, technology and policy and law in oil spill prevention and response."Oil Spill Response" has greatly improved over the last 30 years of the 20th century.;On a global basis, billions have been spent in R&D in planning and response. However, a paradigm shift is in the works that is needed to more effectively use what has been learned in the last 30 years in both prevention and in clean up. Oil spills are no longer considered unavoidable "accidents" of environmental conditions or functions of catastrophic events. More than 80 per cent of all spills are the result of human error.;The focus of the clegal, regulatory and convention framework affecting the transportation of oil by ship reflects a change in public attitude, an insistence upon protection of the world's marine environments, particularly coastal ecosystems. This public concern seeks to address the root cause of oil spills, including human error. The outcome of such national and international attention is the creation of significant legal and political motivators for a cultural shift by the oil shipping industry, from an "evasion" culture to a "safety culture".;"Safety culture" connotes continuous improvement in ship operations and a willingness to adopt the evolving safety culture concepts of communication at all levels within the company, better trained and qualified personnel on board ship, emphasis on safety from top down, and proactive institution of safety management systems at all levels of operation. Evasion or mere compliance with international and national law is no longer sufficient for future sustainable shipping.
