Update on Risk Criteria for Crude Oil Tanker Fleet

In recent the maritime trade of crude oil has suffered notable perturbations caused by the unbalanced relation between supply and demand. The Covid 19 pandemic caused the drop in oil consumption in 2019 followed by the reduction of production in 2020. The seaborne transport of oil is about 50 to 60 percent of all crude oil in world production. The crude oil market is a crucial regulator of the global economy and instabilities of this market have noticeable effects on collective risks. The immediate risks that the society see are the changes in costs of life that are followed by political uncertainties. Less visible are the risks that these uncertainties have on shipping companies and the level of management stability they have to maintain in order to keep seagoing safe.The paper presents an update on the overall state of risk management for the crude oil tanker fleet evidenced by EMSA, and other international marine organisations. The previous paper entitled Safety Assessment of Crude Oil Tankers, applying the methodology of the Formal Safety Assessment, was published in 2018, covering the historical data, related to the fleet size, accident reports, amount of oil spilled on sea and the economic value of the crude oil transport business. The particular focus is on the evolution of the risk acceptance criteria over the years and the difference in the predictions from 2018 to present days.