In one form or another, this phrase has recurred in all the major European daily newspapers ever since the disaster was announced. At the end of September the Committee of the Regions adopted a timely opinion on maritime safety in Europe. This opinion, drawn up by Mr Gianfranco Lamberti, Mayor of Livorno and member of the COR , proposed the adoption of a package of measures to boost maritime safety, focusing particularly on vessels transporting pollutant substances. The COR called for controls on the application of existing safety rules to be stepped up, in both qualitative and quantitative terms. The COR adds that local and regional authorities should be involved in the setting up of such an agency as oil slicks first and foremost have a regional or local impact.
Doubts nonetheless persist.
The Committee of the Regions, in this same opinion, had called for a series of measures to be implemented to improve and strengthen the ship inspection regime. By way of example, the COR opinion advocates that inspectors should not only check the documents on board, but also carry out a direct, visual examination of the ship's structural condition.