Ferry owners' fears

THE ferry industry was initially slow to realise the implications of the new environmental regulations while they were being developed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

This has changed. At the recent annual conference of the sector's trade association, Interferry, the chief executive of the Britain-based P&O Ferries, Helen Deeble, urged members to speak in a united voice when dealing with governments.

She said: "We need to be involved pre-regulation because he who shouts loudest wins. There is a fundamental conf…