Code of practice will steer ships clear of Y2K collision problems

THE UNITED Nations has been presented with a Year 2000 code of practice for the maritime industry, which is aimed at minimising the risk of ships colliding with each other or crashing into ports on January 1, 2000.
Sixteen international maritime associations met in March to achieve global consensus on making ships and ports aware of potential difficulties. An example involves a ship that is concerned about the state of Y2K preparedness of a port. The new code will recommend the ship stays out at sea until the danger period is over, and similarly ports concerned about unsafe ships could
consider denying them access.
The problem will be in deciding who is suspect and who is not.
Experts say that those ships and ports that are known not to comply with existing safety regulations such as SOLAS were those likely to cause problems.
The mini drama in the Port of Durban on the evening of April 1 (see page 2), when the container ship Tugela experienced steering problems and collided with the North Pier before stopping - fortunately without any real damage to either the pier or the ship - is an example of the potential danger.
By Terry Hutson