The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Sometimes I feel like the boy who cried wolf. I study all maritime related regulations and policies and warn my clients about the severe consequences of noncompliance. All too often the bark is much worse than the bite when it comes to these things due to minimal or nonexistent enforcement.  But when they do bite, it hurts. It hurts not only from the penalty, but from a sense of injustice. Vessel owners think, "Why am I being singled out? This was never an issue before? What about the company down the road?" For whatever reason, selective enforcement is a reality that we must live with. But every regulation ignored, or complied with in a half-assed manner, is a roll of the dice. To be fair, there are many companies who choose to minimize their risk by accepting responsibility and dedicate themselves to getting it right. However, there is no denying that the "wait and see" strategy works and has worked for many years.

Recently I have noticed a shift in the industry, not brought on by government enforcement, but by customers. Customer audits are proving a much greater motivator towards compliance and conformance than any government enforcement. This is most apparent in the red flag industry. Some companies are imposing the requirements of OCIMF SIRE and TMSA on their towing vessel subcontractors. Additionally, the new BSEE regulations require offshore industry subcontractors, including vessel operators, to include the specific policies and procedures of the offshore operator in the subcontractor's safety management system.

Compliance is key to profitability in the maritime industry. It used to be that compliance helped a company save money by avoiding fines and costly compliance errors. Now, compliance can actually help a company make money. Those companies that can satisfy these more stringent requirements will be in an excellent position moving forward. The changes being required by oil and offshore majors make Subchapter M look like small beans.

I hope the smaller operators are not scared off by it all. Complying with all these requirements really is an achievable goal, as long as a company has the commitment to compliance on all levels, a strategy to get into compliance and stay in compliance, and the leadership and management skills necessary to execute that strategy. And, remember, in "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," the wolf eventually shows up, with devastating consequences.