Nils Nordh, Executive Vice President of Star Cruises, emphasises the importance of being in the forefront when it comes to safety measures:
The industry cannot continue doing things in an old-fashioned way. We must all come together to develop best practices for building and operation of large cruise vessels.
Alcohol limits
Such practices should include two officers on watch on bridge, zero tolerance alcohol policy, STCW limits, and the blood alcohol level to 0.8ppt.
But Nordh wants to go further, in principal with zero alcohol levels for all watchkeeping personnel and no more than 0.4ppt for all others having emergency duties in case of an incident. Mandatory simulator training programmes should also be agreed.
The cruise industry needs to come together and discuss various safety measures to create best practice in relation to existing regulations, says Nordh. We should agree on common efforts, as varying standards could cause negative effects on the industry.
Simulator training
Star Cruises now has a combined fleet of 20 vessels, those of Star Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Orient Line, sailing in the waters of Europe, Asia and the Americas.
It is probably the only cruise and shipping company in the world with its own simulator centre in Malaysia, training officers from the combined fleet. The centre also trains officers from companies such as Maersk and Neptune Orient Lines. Nordh envisages similar such ventures, mentioning shoreside safety centres, and onboard safety centre.
Undiscovered possibilities
Nordh concludes by pointing out the enormous potential for cruises in Europe and Asia.
Europe has interesting areas such as the Norwegian fjords and the Baltic. These are, of course, seasonal, but Europe has non-seasonal areas such as the Mediterranean, far away from war zones like Afghanistan. Placing China and India on the cruise map will encourage a further growth in the number of passengers in the future.