Introduction

This introductory chapter sets the political, economic and historical scene for the study which is about how and why private and public governance of international maritime safety changed in the period mid-1970s to around 2015. It argues that an historical approach can reveal patterns in international regulatory development otherwise difficult to see. It explains why structuring the analysis around a string of dramatic maritime accidents that took place in this period and juxtapose these to contemporary European integration processes and changes in world economy can bring insight to changes that took place within the international maritime governance structure. It introduces how and why the EU was gradually given regulatory power over shipping matters by its Member States. This in turn introduced new European-wide regulation and control mechanisms, which fundamentally challenged the entire international maritime safety governance structure, which was centred around the International Maritime Organisation, IMO. Particular emphasis is put on why and how—and with what consequences—the EU chose to make regulation of the maritime (ship) classification societies such a prominent part of its approach. The chapter starts with a shipping regulatory retrospect, arguing that a quick glance at the historical origins and key characteristics of the sectors’ governance structures may assist in explaining the more recent developments scrutinised in this book. Finally, some analytical tools such as ‘international regimes’, ‘institutional interaction’ and the ‘The Brussels Effect’ are introduced for use throughout the ensuing chapters.