Tokyo: MOL president Akimitsu Ashida (pictured) has begun 2007 by stressing the importance of safety in operations in his New Year speech. "Despite our financial success, last year was still a regrettable one for the MOL Group as a result of four serious vessel incidents occurring in succession," he said. "Let me express our wholehearted commitment to ensuring the safety of our vessels as the MOL Group's top priority"
The company, which saw consolidated revenues of $6.4bn in the first half of FY2006, was plagued with incidents involving their vessels Giant Step, MOL Initiative, Bright Artimis and Cougar Ace.
"I have directed Deputy President Hidehiro Harada, the chair of the Emergency Task Force for Enhancement of Operational Safety, to analyze the four vessel incidents from all aspects, and to formulate strong new countermeasures designed to improve the safety of our vessel operation," Ashida added. "The Task Force recently made a report to the Operational Safety Committee, which I chair. Since majority of their proposals match my deduction, I have ordered the immediate implementation of many of their proposals by the appropriate steering committees and the Marine Management Division.
Identifying global warming and unpredictable weather conditions as additional safety factors to be considered in the year ahead, Ashida said that constant attention to detail was a small price to pay as it represented only about 1% of "the time and energy used to respond to and deal with an accident after it occurs." [04/01/07]
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