The Dutch of New Amsterdam were shipbuilders, also. If this figure is correct she would have been the largest ship built in the New World for many years. Massachusetts was the site of other yards which began operating soon after in Ipswich, Salem and Marblehead. Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652 passed laws that set standards for ship construction, as well as providing for surveys and a kind of classification of a seaman's seaworthiness. While we don't have a copy of these laws available, it's not a stretch of any kind to say that ship construction standards and ship seaworthiness are still very important topics today.
Ships occasionally sink.
For the purposes of this article we're not going to address acts of war or terrorism. We are going to discuss trying to make ships and shipping safer, and how ASTM is helping. There are two government agencies which are very much involved with the U.S. Maritime Industry. They are both part of the Department of Transportation. The other agency is the U.S. Coast Guard which plays an important role in promoting safety in marine transportation and has specific regulatory responsibilities in commercial vessel safety.