A Titanic Responsibility: SOLAS, 1974, Essay Example

While the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 has generated nearly a century of speculation and been the subject of myriad treatments in entertainment arenas, it was a disaster that gave rise to an overdue and essential treaty: the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). In 1914, a proscribed number of regulations were set in place and agreed upon by existing powers engaged in shipping and ocean transport, and the overwhelming spur to this was the legendary, and sadly accurate, failure of the Titanic in being properly equipped with lifeboats.

Since its inception, SOLAS has undergone extensive modifications, often occurring decades apart. A slow-moving giant of maritime authority, SOLAS has never lacked in critics, who decry its limitations. Moreover, its intrinsic dependence upon international cooperation has rendered it a subjective instrument, particularly during periods of war. SOLAS nonetheless remains the only internationally recognized and comprehensive standard for maritime safety in operation, and its continued existence is vital to an ever-increasing usage of the world’s oceans as means of transport.

Historical Overview

“The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms…is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships….The main objective is to specify minimum standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships…” (Luck 237). As stated, the Titanic disaster was the impetus for the forming of the Convention, yet it is interesting to note that a full two years passed before the original SOLAS was set out, in 1914.

The life of the SOLAS Convention has largely been characterized by this slow-moving evolution. Designed from the start to be a pact open to necessary amendments, these changes have required all the bureaucratic negotiation, and subsequent periods of time in which to conduct them, that any massive international enterprise calls for. As of 2006, SOLAS represents the cooperation of 156 parties, or nations. Given the difficulties associated in treaties formed between only several countries, it is not surprising that SOLAS amendments are slow to be both drafted and incorporated.

The most substantial versions of SOLAS were ratified on 1929, 1948, 1960, and 1974, and the latter remains the most accepted and acknowledged version of the Convention. Amendments over these years were prompted by changes in technologies, reassessments of what constitutes safety protocols in regard to human passage, and of course the introduction of vessels with nuclear capabilities. The 1960 SOLAS was marked by an attention to these post-war advances. Moreover, it was the official merging of SOLAS with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which had come into being in 1948.

The resounding impact of the 1974 Convention lay in its acknowledging of future changes which need not rely upon exact international confirmation. A ‘tacit acceptance’ procedure was implemented, whereby nations objecting to amendments were responsible for making their feelings known. Otherwise, widely accepted amendments would naturally attach to the existing Convention. This had, and has, the effect of allowing modifications to occur far more expeditiously.

Basic Content

The SOLAS Convention, to its enduring credit, has always sought to incorporate every conceivable factor in its mandating of safety protocols. Not unexpectedly, the range of items and procedures covered is vast. Life-saving apparatus and its maintenance was foremost in the SOLAS agenda, and strict guidelines are in place to ensure that provisions exist for all passengers and crew, no matter the type of vessel. So too was great attention paid to radio communication capabilities, and in particular on establishing modes of continuous radio activity.

Machinery, electrical equipment, garbage removal, open access to life-saving stations, medical provision, and a great deal more are addressed in the SOLAS Convention. As high-speed vessels entered the shipping arenas, protocols on safety relating to excessive speeds were instituted. The conveying of dangerous good, nuclear or otherwise, is as well stringently regulated. In all the areas it covers, SOLAS requires above all a systematized and exact means of documentation. Chain of command is expected to sign off on each safety measure, to establish a checks and balances mode of operation in which failure to comply can be easily traced.

Given the intrinsically international nature of the Convention, measures of diplomatic protocol come into play and are observed, as in any international accord. “Prior to entering a port…a ship shall comply with the requirements for the security level set by that contracting government, if the security level is higher than the security level set by the administration of that ship” (Branch 89). As is obvious, every contracted government must adhere to the Convention’s minimum standards of safety, but a greater caution is to be respected and observed when a nation individually insists upon it.

Issues and Dilemmas

The SOLAS Convention faces, as it has from its inception, myriad difficulties due to its international composition. While safety is the agreed-upon and chief objective of all parties concerned, relations between governments may often be strained, and the authority of SOLAS must always be employed with discretion. A stand-off in a port could easily escalate into an actual confrontation or serious dispute, and intense degrees of diplomatic interaction are required when such situations are imminent.

Certification is the backbone of the SOLAS Convention’s operations, yet this alone is not relied upon. Port authorities are specifically directed to refuse a ship to leave port “…when there are clear grounds for believing that a ship or its equipment does not comply with the provisions, even if there is a valid certificate” (Brugmann 18). These are the instances wherein authorities lock horns; the government owning the port is a member of the Convention and must abide by its policies, but nonetheless maintains its own authority and may dispute a certification it finds suspect or inadequate.

New problems arise in adapting and implementing SOLAS regulations with the rise of the ‘information age’. Safety is no longer merely a matter of fire protocols or the number of lifeboats; in a global situation wherein terrorism is the prevalent mode of modern warfare, information and the transmission of it is as as critical to safety at sea as it is upon land. Moreover, information is hardly restricted to Morse Codes and sealed messages, and satellite and Internet capabilities have rendered the passing of potentially life-threatening information an activity virtually anyone with a hand-held device can accomplish.

As SOLAS confronts a new age in communication, it must adopt policies that echo measures at least attempted on land. These measure must ensure that potentially dangerous communicative activities are monitored and safeguarded, while not infringing upon personal liberties and restricting recognized freedoms. As on land and within every government of any standing, the task ahead is not an easy one.

Works Cited

Branch, Alan E.  Elements of Shipping. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2007. Print.

Brugmann, Gero.  Access to Maritime Ports. Norderstedt, Germany: Books on Demand, 2003. Print.

Luck, Michael.  The Encyclopedia of Tourism and Recreation in Marine Environments. Cambridge, MA: CABI, 2008. Print.