Portland Observer
Behind Liberian tankers high accident rates
Carla
HONGKONG (PNS) Behind the recent
rash of oil tanker accidents in US waters
lies a system of shipping registration that
has given the tiny African nation of
Liberia the largest merchant fleet in the
world and that may be a significant
cause of accidents at sea.
Liberia, along with Punama and a few
other small nations, flies a "fUig of
convenience." Ship owners from around
the world register fleets there to escape
the taxes, union wage scales and often
strict regulations and inspections in their
home countries.
Three-quarters of the Liberian ships
are Greek or American-owned.
And
some of the best ships in the world,
including those of almost every major
U. S. oil company, are among them.
But according to recent statistics from
the Organization for Economic Cooper-
ation and Development (OECD! -made up
of Japan, the U.Sand Western Europe--
ships flying flags of convenience were lost
at nearly four times the rate of those
from OECD nations during the ten years
prior to 1973.
An investigation in Hongkong last
spring for the first time shed light on one
of the major reasons: lax standards that
have routinely allowed unqualified sea
men to become officers on Liberian and
Panamanian ships.
Investigators discovered that while
only 25 percent of the ocean-going traffic
in the Hongkong area in 1976 flew flags of
convenience, they accounted for 75 per
cent of all ships that sank or seriously
faltered.
Last February and March the Hong-
Kong Marine Department uncovered 108
cases of illegal recruitment and decided
to begin spot checks on seamen'n certif
icates on ships berthing there.
They estimate that Close to one quarter
of those seeking the 25.000 sea jobs
Hongkong offers each year are involved
in certificate forgeries and illegal recruit
ment. Prices for forgeries range from
$200 for a seaman's license to $3000 for a
captain's certificate, according to Hong
kong government sources.
But even more threatening than simple
forgery was the discovery of a scheme
whereby Panamanian licenses were alt
ered -changed. for example, from seaman
to officer--and then exchanged for valid
Liberian certificates at the higher grade.
According to Hongkong Marine De
partment officials, Panama and Liberia
long ago decided to accept each other's
seamen's certificates in even exchange.
They also accept certificates from other
countries, though none of the major
maritime nations return the favor.
One convicted ship-broker in Hong
kong testified that he had simply written
in higher grades--elevating one sailor
from pump-man to chief engineer, for
example-on Panamanian certificates. He
then photocopied them and sent the
copies to the Liberian Maritime Adminis
tration in New York for the equivalent
Liberian certificates, which were in turn
used by sailors to get "genuine" Pana
manian licenses.
The Liberian government flatly denied
that it accepted Panamanian seamen’s
licenses as a basis for issuing Liberian
licenses.
But Hongkong government
officials say such exchanges have been
routine for years, an assessment that is
confirmed by international shipping reg
istration officials.
The Liberians also claimed that 33
license applications made by the ship-
broker who testified in Hongkong had
been rejected by them between January
1975 and April 1976 because forgery was
suspected. But Hongkong authorities say
they were never told of the suspected
forgeries, though notification could have
helped them stop the practice.
The prosecutors in Hongkong lay part
of the blame for the widespread forgeries
on the U N Inter-Governmental Consulta
tive Maritime Organization (IMCO). One
of their briefs charged that the IMCO, the
international body that regulates ship
ping, had failed “to agree on minimum
international standards of training and
examination for purposes of issuing cert
ificates of competency."
The IMCO is not planning to formally
discuss the standardization issue until
1978, but if they do eventually decide to
move on it they will have their work cut
out. Standards for certification of sea
men differ sharply from country to
country.
While Britain requires a rigorous
series of oral and written exams taken
after several years in training school,
Liberia gives a multiple choice test. And
in Taiwan, the exam is heavily weighted
with political questions.
Standards for promotion from rank to
rank and for officer certification likewise
vary widely.
(•Editor's Note: Carla Rapaport, who
writes regularly for Pacific New Service
and the Far Eastern Economic Review, is
also a television reporter and news editor
in Hongkong.
(PNS) The winnowing process that even
tually selects those who will be doctors,
lawyers and politicians starts early with
IQ tests.
Many think the widely used Weschler
Intelligence Scale for Children-known as
W IS C -ia a test that can wisk minority
children into society's dustbin before
they reach puberty.
Given orally to children between ages
five and 15, the point is to see how dose
the tested children come to answers
given by 2,200 white youngsters in 1949.
Children who answer as that “norm”
group did are deemed intelligent.
For example: “What would you do if a
fellow much smaller than you started a
fig h tr
The child who answers that as encour
aged by the typical middle class Sunday
schooi-tum one's cheek and “walk ewey"-
geta maximum point for intelligence.
A kid reared in a subculture where no
one admits walking away from a fight
indicates s lack of intelligence.
Studies show the WISC test more
unreliable than the SAT. In 1964, 99
psychologists gave the same WISC test
to a single youngster. That child's scores
ranged from 63 to 117-from idiocy to
intelligence.
Jane Mercer, a University of California
at Riverside sociologist, found during the
1960's that IQ tests were branding as
Federal courts since have ordered the
re-testing of 22,000 Mexican-American
students in California classified as “men
tally retarded” on the basis of the English
language IQ testa.
Those who have been retested in
Spanish show some improvement Never
theless, the white middle class back
ground that even the translated ques
tions demand continues to drag scores
down.
A 1974 federal law now requires that
schools taking federal money use tests
that are “not racially or culturally dis
criminatory."
Efforts to comply are not far advanced
in most states. California has set up a
board of minority experts to review all
tests formulated by the state.
In testimony before the California
State Board of Education in December,
Mercer recommended a new system of
several tests to replace the single IQ test.
Testers using her method would inter
view a child's parents and give tests that
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IQ tests: Looking for 1949 norm
“retarded" twice as many black children
and four times as many Mexican-Ameri
can youngsters as experts could account
for according to normal proportions of the
population.
“The tests,” she says, “were drawing
items from the mainstream of Anglo
culture. Intelligence was defined as the
ability to speak English and an acquain
tance with Anglo culture."
Thursday, January 6, 1977 Page 3
Open 9 am to 10 pm daily, including Sunday.
show how the child learns outside the
school.
“I f we can determine that a child is
coping well in the neighborhood," she
says, “and getting along well with
friends, learning how to go to the store,
traveling around the city, then we have
evidence of learning ability. We can say
the child is not retarded. Then it's the
school's job to supply the Anglo culture.”
Knowing nothing about students ex
cept their family backgrounds, the M er
cer research group is able to predict
which students will test poorly. With
some accuracy they are able to say what
fraction of the low showing is due to
nothing more than family background.
Using that kind of analysis Mercer is
now helping refine a sort of handicapped
system that will allow educators to
calculate an adjusted IQ by taking cultur
al background and income out of the
picture.
The system is being tried with some
success in Pueblo, Colorado.
“The testing industry thrives.” says
the Berkeley School of Education's Leo
Ruth, “on our naivete about standardized
tests and the illusion of certainty where
none exists.”
Trouble is, the results can stick.
(Editor's Note: Jack Saunders is a tech
nical w riter at the Lawrence Livermore
Radiation Laboratory.)
PCC teach«« industrial security
A new curriculum for those inter
ested in the field of industrial retail
security starts during winter term at
Portland Community College.
John Koroloff, government services
department chairman, conducted a sur
vey into career possibilities in this area
because law enforcement possibilities
have become so competitive.
“The industrial retail security area
provides an alternative for those inter
ested in criminal justice,” Koroloff said.
“Law enforcement has really become
competitive. Some places now require a
four year college degree for entry."
Koroloffs survey indicated for every
sworn police officer there are two secur
ity people is the private sector.
He
estimates there are nearly 5000 security
positions in the metropolitan area.
The survey went to the 100 largest
corporations in the metropolitan area as
we|l as members of the American Associ
ation for Industrial Security.
Those going into the security field have
slightly different educational needs than
those in the criminal justice ares, accord
ing to Koroloff. “For security personnel
the emphasis is on crime prevention and
asset protection rather than apprehen
sion of offenders," he said.
Koroloff indicated the security role
could be defined as “anticipation, recog
nition and appraisal of organizational
risks and the initiation of action to
M."
_____JM t.
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That description of the security role
was put together by an advisory commit
tee used in the designing of the curricu
lum for the new program at PCC. The
twelve members of that advisory commit
tee represent a cross section of security
personnel in the metropolitan area.
Among those serving are Bill Admire,
Portland Security; Bud Lewis, ESCO
Corporation; Myron Warren, Tektronix,
Inc; Bard Purcell, First National Bank;
Jack Crawford, Lake Oswego; Larry
Lundborg, Lundborg Control Service
Richard Dehaan and Ladd Hunt, Schnit-
zer Industries.
Also on the advisory committee are
Gerald Edwards, Washington Square;
Captain Ed Hasting. Lloyd Center; Frank
f Baum, Wallace Security, and John Mey
er, Good Samaritan Hospital.
The use of advisory committees helps
the college plan educational offerings that
will really be relevant when the person
moves on the job situation, Koroloff said.
"Traditionally security has been a disci
pline without any educational back
ground,” he explained.
Koroloff drew from some existing
courses in criminal justice as well as
management-supervisory to design the
security certificate program. “The survey
indicated a special need for supervisory
training in the field," he explained.
" It is possible to get skill acquisition for
both criminal justice and industrial secur
ity,” Koroloff continued. The student
who uses the industrie! security courses
as electives for the criminal justice
program will end up with a certificate in
security, as well as the associate of arts
degree in criminal justice.
Those working for the security certif
icate will take introductory law courses,
technical report writing, supervision
principles, psychology and oral communi
cations as well as introductory courses in
Ore protection and criminal investigation.
Koroloff said classes will be offered
both day and night. Students may enroll
for either full or part time work. Other
management courses are also available.
Registration for classes occurs during
the first week of January and classes are
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