MOL to spend $294m on safety

MOL TO SPEND US$294M ON SAFETY

THE president of major Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines, Akimitsu Ashida, his company is set to spend yen35bn in three years to improve safety.

Speaking to mark the 123rd anniversary of the founding of the company Mr Ashida referred to the four serious incidents involving MOL vessels saying “we should avoid any similar occurrences in the future by working together”.

He continued: “To that end, today we begin MOL Advance, our new three-year management plan. The first objective of our new plan is the implementation of measures designed to reinforce safe operations. The restoration of trust from our customers and the global community is critical and our plan is to invest a total of yen 35 billion in safety operations over the three year period of MOL Advance, while continuing to increase the quality of our transportation service.”

He said: “This will include the development of the Safety Operation Supporting Centre and the recruitment/training of seafarers. We will also focus on the development of safety standards for our current and future operated vessels. To put it concretely, three ship management company groups for dry cargo ships, tankers, and LNG carriers will formulate basic ship management policies for each type of vessel, and each ship management company among the groups will take the initiative to implement those policies through its daily operations. The Marine Management Division (new name: Marine Safety Division) will support these ship management companies’ operations. We also established the Safety Operations Headquarters as a parent organization to integrate the emergency response and safety management standards which are common among ship management companies. We expect vessels and ship management companies to work together to achieve a new world standard in transport quality under this new site-oriented organizational structure.”

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