Safety trends in the oil tanker industry

The paper presents the overall risk management state for the crude oil tanker fleet, evidenced by EMSA and other international marine organisations. Based on historical statistical data related to fleet size, accident reports, amount of oil spilled on the sea and the economic value of the crude oil transport business, the risk acceptance criteria are evaluated. The Formal Safety Assessment is further used for a systematic assessment of risk, where potential hazards are analysed with structured methods (HAZID) and represented in event trees. The paper studies three risks: PLL (potential loss of lives), PLC (potential loss of containment) and PLP (potential loss of property). A general approach is presented and discussed with a particular focus on the evolution of risk acceptance in recent decades and evaluations of risk F-N curves for different tanker sizes.