Isgott 6 2020 Updated Edition to be published in July

ISGOTT was first published in 1978 by combining the Tanker Safety Guide (Petroleum) published by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Oil Tanker and Terminal Safety Guide published on behalf of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF). This Sixth Edition updates and replaces the 2006 Fifth Edition and has been reviewed by OCIMF and ICS together with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH). Support has also been provided by other industry associations, including INTERTANKO, the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO) and the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF), as well as specialists in topics such as human factors.

The authors believe that ISGOTT continues to provide the best technical guidance on oil tanker and terminal operations. All operators are urged to ensure that the recommendations in this Sixth Edition are fully understood and are incorporated in safety management systems and procedures.

This new edition covers a range of topical issues including gas detection, the toxicity and the toxic effects of petroleum products (including benzene and hydrogen sulphide), the generation of static electricity and stray currents, fire protection and the growing use of mobile electronic technology.

In addition, the opportunity was taken to include new topics or to significantly reappraise topics previously covered that have undergone a shift in emphasis since the Fifth Edition. These include:
•Enclosed space entry
•Human factors
•Safety Management Systems (SMSs), including complementary tools and processes such as permits to work, risk assessment, Lock-out/Tag-out (LO/TO), Stop Work Authority (SWA) and their linkage to the underlying principles of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code
•Marine terminal administration and the critical importance of the tanker/terminal interface
•Alternative and emerging technologies
•Bunkering operations, including the use of alternative fuels such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
•Cargo inspections
•Alignment with OCIMF’s recently revised Mooring Equipment Guidelines
•Maritime security and linkage to both the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code and industry’s maritime security Best Management Practices (BMP).

The Ship/Shore Safety and Bunkering Operations Checklists have also been completely revised to reflect changes in the understanding of the impact of human factors in their effective use.

The Sixth Edition retains the four-section format of:
•General Information
•Tanker Information
•Terminal Information
•Ship/Shore (Tanker/Terminal) Interface.

 However, the layout has been significantly improved to make the book easier to navigate, with the addition of coloured sections and tabs. The text is supported throughout with new and updated illustrations.

Tank Terminals: The New Normal?

Gradually the world is returning to the New Normal. But what is that Normal, is it normal or abnormal? Does normal mean the same as before the Corona crisis, back to business as usual? Fritjof Capra, the famous physicist said that only an dramatic event would change people’s behaviour, which has actually happened. Careless people were suddenly reminded that they too are mortals, but the issue is that fear of death replaced intelligence by reactionary measures that spelled misery for the most of us for the long term. Whilst many people died from complications accelerated by the virus, billions more suddenly are facing immediate poverty because they are forbidden to work any longer and imprisoned in draconian lockdowns resulting in dehumanising effects.

The Central Bank in the Netherlands has issued a warning that unemployment could double and that economic restabilisation was not to be expected any time soon. So how can we go back to business as usual if the business is no longer there? The old financial paradigm is just not compatible with today’s economic and societal situation.

A new design is needed, not based on growth, which is the mantra central banks and corporations like to use, but balanced business based on the carrying capacity of our planet. A new, sustainable design is needed, because only then we can avoid a next virus outbreak because, as a systems thinker, I can see a direct causal link between Corona and our old ways of doing business. We have to develop a basic income system for everyone, which is in my view the only way to avoid chaos, misery and war. Now is the moment to do so.

It is no use to save path-dependent businesses like airlines, because when people are losing their jobs or international meetings can be done online, the usual frequent flyers won’t fly that much any more. A rationalisation of economics is needed, not based on statistical prognosis but on reality, through real-time information feedback.

You know, it comes down to this: a new design of the economic system must be based on cybernetics, the science of communication and information. We can look at society, understand its complexity, see what is there and what is missing, ease dissent, and work according to the Law of Requisite Variety to create a resilient economy that is circular, self-maintining and self-regulating.

I have been creating the criteria and conditions for such a design. No, they are not utopic, but feasible. But who is able or willing to lead this inescapble paradigm shift? In our storage, handling, transporting and trading business of hazardous cargoes, we can start by looking at how nature sustains itself, and develop non-hazardous products, which will be a good starting point, hopefully copied by other sectors.

One things is very clear, without innovative initiatives from within our industry there will be entropy. I am sure you have noticed that this New Normal is the current state of disorder.