In 5 weeks, the much-anticipated CMA Shipping expo & conference returns to Connecticut – celebrating both its 36th edition and a return to an ‘in-person’ event after a two-year absence due to the global pandemic. 

Observed annually on the 10th of September, the World Suicide Day aims to raise awareness about suicide prevention with many initiatives around the globe.

From 30 August 2021, the EU Marine Equipment Directive (MED) requires compliance with the Bridge Alert Management (BAM) test standards IEC 62923-1 / IEC 62923-2 for new installation of GMDSS communication equipment’s placed on board SOLAS ships.

In some cases the Pilot may inform the local PSC station for unsafe acts observed during pilotage, however this is not a common practice. So, what can a PSCO do?

For a Marine Pilot, embarking and disembarking a ship is a challenging task. Pilot ladders is a simple and inexpensive way to embark and disembark a vessel at sea; however, many pilots are still being injured whilst embarking ships. Safe pilot transfers are the result of cooperation between vessel management and the pilot.

NTSB latest Safer Seas Digest includes lessons learned from US maritime incident investigations, highlighting many safety concerns in accident scenarios such as bridge strikes. Following analysis of 42 cases, occurred during 2020, NTSB warns that new lithium-ion battery hazards can be every bit as deadly as the worst storms.

The pandemic crisis has shed the lights on mental health, but let’s not forget that the physical wellbeing is equally important, experts of ‘the Physical Wellbeing Panel’ during the 2021 Crew Welfare Week, in late June, stressed.

After realizing that people make mistakes, people’s actions are rarely malicious and mistakes are typically due to conditions and systems that make work difficult, the fourth guiding principle out of the eight OCIMF principals on human factors, comes to highlight the importance of understanding the conditions in which mistakes happen in order to prevent and correct them.

Seafarers have demanding tasks to complete onboard that require full concentration and awareness. Misuse of personal devices (mob phones, mp4 players, tablets) whilst on duty in the workplace may cause distraction with potentially serious safety implications, CHIRP warned in a recent video.

Shipping industry is considered stereotypically as a male-dominated sector. However, during the last couple of years it is observed that women in shipping have started gaining momentum. In fact, a lot of companies focus on several initiatives with the aim to equip women with leadership skills within their businesses.