Governance and Regulation: Drivers and Leverage in Support of Improved Management of Health and Safety at Sea

Throughout this book we have argued that the maritime industry remains a comparatively risky place to work, not only because of the unpredictable physical environment but also as a consequence of the efforts of capital in the industry to minimise its operational costs while maximising profits. These efforts have been highly successful and pursued, in part, through strategies of regulatory avoidance, greatly aided by global neo-liberal political and economic policies on the part of states internationally. They have allowed ‘flagging out’ to weak and poorly resourced maritime administrations and the replacement of an expensive and unionised labour force from rich counties with a cheap, mixed labour force drawn largely from weakly unionised, poor countries. As we detailed in previous chapters, as a result, concern about lowering of standards in the industry has led to parallel efforts to improve regulation, but the locus of governance and regulation as well as to a large extent that of organised labour has shifted from the nation state to that of global institutions. An elaborate framework of rules governing the operation of the industry has resulted, including, as we have documented, an extensive body of requirements making provision for the health, safety and welfare of seafarers. However, the effectiveness of these rules in achieving the desired improvement in the work environment of seafarers and in protecting them from injury or ill health remains doubtful.