During the 2024 GREEN4SEA Singapore Forum, Capt. Yves Vandenborn, FNI, Executive Board member, The Nautical Institute, offered a presentation that provided an update on the Green Curriculum project that the Nautical Institute is currently involved with.

Everyone has stressful and long days, but what makes one ready to tackle on the day, is good rest, says Capt. Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention, NorthStandard Club. When it comes to the maritime industry, it is imperative that the upper management at shore understands the dynamics of the lifestyle of crew at sea and introduce initiatives that are truly beneficial for seafarers, he says.

Capt. Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention, Standard Club makes an assessment of 2021 and shares his message for the new year across the global maritime community.

In an exclusive interview, Capt. Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention, The Standard Club, introduces Standard Club’s series of Masters’ Guides which are a compilation of the experience and expertise of their Loss Prevention professionals and industry experts, focusing on best practices for enhanced safety at sea.

We have asked Capt Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention at The Standard Club, to make an assessment of 2020 from his perspective and share his message for the new year across the global community. Among others, he wishes that lessons learnt during this year are not quickly forgotten and that ship managers will really focus more on the wellbeing of their seafarers.

Capt. Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention, The Standard Club, provides tips for safe navigation now that the typhoon season is underway and notes that this can cause widespread disruption and delays in the logistical supply chain. Also, he highlights that the ship’s passage plan should incorporate considerations based on the anticipated weather conditions, and contingency measures for avoiding depressions while maintaining the commercial and economic viability of the voyage.

During the last SAFETY4SEA Athens Forum, Capt. Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention, The Standard Club, discussed seafarers’ wellbeing from the mental and social point of view. Nationalities and different cultures have different ways of socializing, he argued, so companies should adopt new ways to encourage socializing amongst seafarers onboard.

Too many shipboard safety drills have become meaningless reminders of procedure. Capt. Yves Vandenborn says good drills should reflect the roller-coaster ride of real-life emergencies. The problem with many safety drills today is that nobody takes them seriously.

Although modern satellite systems have reached a landmark for maritime navigation and navigators vastly rely on ECDIS data, safe navigation requires also from mariners to take into consideration the accuracy and reliability of the source hydrographic data, Capt. Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention at Standard P&I Club, highlighted. 

During his presentation at the last SAFETY4SEA Conference in Athens, Capt. Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention, The Standard Club, noted that seafarer resilience can be improved through enhanced training regimes focused on realism, putting emphasis on additional experience.