Author(s)

Lech K. Kobylmski

Abstract

Study of the history of the development of ship safety requirements reveals that work on the development of safety rules was always initiated as a result of tragic disasters. Public outcry at the lives lost forced the authorities to set up more stringent standards of ship construction. A classic example of this was the development of the first SOLAS Convention after the TITANIC disaster and also, quite recently, the establishment of new requirements for ro-ro vessels after the ESTONIA casualty. This method of establishing safety rules could be called "trial and error method". The author advocates a different approach to safety requirements. This approach entails relating safety considerations to the risk involved during the sea voyage. In the present si

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