Environmental Policy Factors in the Maritime Industry and Anticipated Regulatory Trends
Abstract
Increased environmental regulatory policy has been put in place by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in response to waterborne oil pollution events. We examine the IMO regulatory response to these incidences. This paper covers literature on the subject of environmental norms in the Maritime Industry. Starting with the Oil and Pollution Act of 1954 (OILPOL) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973/78 (MARPOL), there has been increased frequency of adoption and amending of environmental maritime treaties. Better practices in the form of policy are implemented to change behavior of IMO members. Using institutional theory as a framework with other consensus forming theories, we identify possible cycles in policy amendment and adoption. Data to be used includes (1) oil spill data from the International Tankers Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF), (2) IMO convention and amendment, (3) labor statistics from the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) and International Shipping Federation (ISF), and (4) ages of the World Fleet collected from the yearly publication Review of Maritime Transportation. The linear regression model drawn identified a significant relationship between the severity and number of oil spill incidents to the length of time the policy was given to enter into force. This research concludes with a discussion of anticipating regulatory trends based on waterborne pollution events.
Subject
maritimeships
fleet age
World Fleet
likelihood
international maritime organization
organization
international
takers
association
pollution
federation
limited
oil
spill
incidents
major
event
IMO
ITOPF
amendment
adoption
policy
norms
institutional
theory
consensus formation
entry into force
logistical
regression
Citation
Hayes, Richard D. (2010). Environmental Policy Factors in the Maritime Industry and Anticipated Regulatory Trends. Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -2010 -05 -8163.