Maritime Accidents Investigation
Maritime Accidents have been bothering the sea farers and shipping companies for years now. Safety has always been a big concern for the shipping industry as such. We are now going to discuss about Maritime accidents investigation and the importance of safety management system for shipboard jobs. If we look at the statistics of Maritime accidents investigation we will find that most of the accidents have lead to loss of life and created pollution.
However, most of the loss has happened due to human error rather than any other factor. Keeping these statistics in mind the ISM or the international safety management code was introduced. This has lead to a huge amount of importance given to the crew members being competent enough to run the operations of the ship safely. Only when the authorities are completely satisfied that the person can handle the ship in emergency only the seafarer can go to the ship. This ensures that there is no room left for human errors on board.
In today’s economy the number of workforce in ship is reduced to meet the challenges. This makes it more difficult to handle safety as quite a few people are assigned to manage the whole ship. It is a challenge but it can definitely be handled by appointing crewmen who are well aware of the safety standards. Each person must do his job well and also ensure that he helps the others to ensure that they don’t get hurt in the process. A single wrong action my any of the crew members can put the whole ship in danger.
Let us now discuss about how Maritime accidents investigation led to this development. A seaman was in a one year contract on a cargo ship. He was sent on a tanker later as the company had both these types of ships operating for them. Let me tell you that both these have a different way of operating. In a cargo ship smoking on the deck is allowed. However, in a tanker due to gas being around smoking is absolutely prohibited. The seaman was not aware of this as he was from a cargo ship. He took along with him a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.During one of his breaks as expected he tried to light his cigarette while on the deck. Luckily a senior saw him and stopped him. He also warned him that smoking on a tanker can be very dangerous. This shows that the crewmen must be aware of what they are supposed to do and the basic safety guidelines that exist in a ship. In case he had lit a smoke the consequences could have been grave. It is not possible for the seniors on the ship to keep an eye on all the crewmen and we cannot even expect this. However, they can ensure that before a new joinee comes in no matter what post they are in they must be made aware of these small things.
This negligence on the part of the shipping company was responsible for many accidents on the sea. Maritime accidents investigation found these lapses and also highlighted the same from time to time. This is a case study that is still studied under fire hazards by the seamen. It is human tendency that when they first learn something they do with great patience and concentration. However, with time as it becomes a habit they become confident and then over confident. This happens to all no matter what they are and where they are. To combat this shipping companies ensure that basic safety trainings are followed by advanced safety trainings. These are certifications involved and they seamen need to keep taking refresher trainings too. This ensures that they are regularly made aware of the safety standards that need to be met on the ship.
Safety management system (SMS) is something that is trained to all the seamen before they join. These are directly regulated by the country’s marine governing body. It is a comprehensive program that touches all aspects of sea life. Even the existing officers are given this training. The training is imparted by people who hold internationally accepted certificates in marine safety.
The training is given through videos, questioners, check lists, etc. Pollution prevention is a very important aspect of the training. That is given to save the marine life. Apart from this safety drills are conducted on the ships in regular intervals. This ensures that a practical knowledge is also given to the crew members about the safety system on board so that they know how to react in case of an actual emergency on board. These drills are treated very seriously. The shipping companies keep a track of the trainings. This helps them to know which crewmen are in need for training in the recent future. This makes refresher trainings easier to handle.
The mock drills are also very important as they help the crew members to understand the meaning of all the signals and gestures that can help them to communicate better in emergency and ensure that the situation is under control always. The drills are documented well. Each and every thing is noted. This helps the management to understand where exactly there is a lapse by analysing the non conformities. This ensures that the crewmen are trained on this aspect again. The suggestion is also in for keeping a library in the ship that will contain all the materials and bulletins on safety so that the crewmen can refer to it from time to time.
These play a very vital role in saving loss of lives and property. These steps have definitely reduced the occurrence of sea accidents due to human error much lesser. The seriousness of safety training was indeed identified by Maritime accidents investigation very well. They have helped the shipping authorities of the world to understand how important these training are. This also helps them to appreciate that by channelizing the human force that is available on the sea they can ensure that the ships become much safer place to be.
Maritime Accidents Investigation,
