| The Poseidon Challenge came into being in April 2005
during INTERTANKO's Athens Tanker Event with the
gathering of a significant number of influential and
authoritative figures from right across the tanker industry
– and in fact from the broader shipping industry – who
are committed to interact and work together not only to
energise their sector, but also to work with other sectors,
in order to raise industry standards even further.
A group of tanker owners and other tanker industry
representatives went to Sounion, near Athens , where the
Temple of Poseidon , Greek God of the Seas, sits on a
rocky headland thrusting out into the clear sea. This visit
marked the birth of the Poseidon Challenge.
The vision of this initiative is to encourage and inspire
sectors, companies and people in the oil transportation
sector to work individually, and more importantly
together, not only to set new goals of excellence but also
actually to achieve them. However the spirit of the
Poseidon initiative is already challenging not only the
tanker industry but the shipping industry as a whole.
This drive for excellence inspired the Poseidon Challenge
as well as a revised strategic plan for INTERTANKO
which emerged in parallel. This new plan states, in short,
that INTERTANKO members will lead the continuous
improvement of the tanker industry's performance in
striving to achieve the goals of zero fatalities, zero
pollution, zero detentions.
These aggressive goals were agreed to at INTERTANKO's
Council meeting in November 2005. It took effort and
courage to get agreement on this proactive approach. But
as the tanker industry takes its future into its own hands,
it welcomes the support received from the wider shipping
industry for the concept of the ‘zero' goals.
The Poseidon Challenge
- is part of a strategy to take tangible forward steps towards these goals, and to work together with the industry to achieve practical and effective action.
- is a long-term part of the work programmes of INTERTANKO, of its members, of the whole tanker industry, and ultimately of the whole shipping industry.
- is an invitation to all participants in the Chain of Responsibility to work together in a sustained commitment to continuous improvement.
- is founded on the principle that these shared goals can best be achieved by proactive, voluntary, efforts to set our own high standards for performance rather than by waiting for governmental or environmental “policemen” to do it for us.
- recognises that every link in the Chain of Responsibility is vital and must perform to the same high standard for these shared goals to be achieved.
Singapore meeting
Fifteen links in the chain of responsibility sent top
executives to the first Poseidon Challenge gathering in
April 2006 in Singapore , with authority to support the
Poseidon concept, aims and ideals and also to make
tangible, realisable commitments to continuous
improvement. Agents, Bunker Providers, Class, Dry
Cargo, Education, Flag and Port, Insurance ( Hull ),
Insurance (P&I), Salvors, Seafarers, Shipbrokers,
Shipbuilders, Training Providers, Ship Managers, Ship
Owners and Operators all pledged to be part of this bid
to make our industry the industry that we all want it
to be. Firm, realisable commitments were made, both
by the invited speakers and by those participating from
the floor. |
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