RINa clears itself

RINa`s report into the loss of

Erika

concludes that the class society has “substantially complied with the applicable rules, guidelines and procedures.” It says the loss of the vessel was caused by the mishandling of an initial crack in the hull below the waterline leading to progressive structural failure and not by an overall girder collapse.

Those in the industry are deeply unimpressed saying “it is not up to the crew to save the ship, they should not have been in this position in the first place.”

Intertanko says that all the reports to date have come from interested parties and has called for an independent enquiry – possibly from IACS.

Dagfinn Lunde, Intertanko`s managing director, says RINa`s report is very good in highlighting what happened during the 18 hours the ship was struggling – but not the reason for the problem in the first place. He adds that the report does show how, in contrast to bulk carriers, the structure of tankers means they take a long time to break up – improving crews` survival prospects.

IACS has yet to comment on the report but it is clearly in a dilemma: it either has to criticise one of its members or the standards laid down in the relevant regulations. RINa is the first society to undergo IACS`s vertical audit that will follow through work on 10 vessels to see how the society works in practice.