In an exclusive interview to SAFETY4SEA, Søren Thuen, Chairman, Container Ship Safety Forum (CSSF), highlights that ‘’technology advancement has been and will continue to be a contributing factor to safety of life at sea’’.
He explains how CSSF has engaged industry stakeholders to establish benchmarks and best practices for container safety, concluding that in all discussions around safety, industry must always ensure that our seafarers remain a key priority.
SAFETY4SEA: Tell us a few words about the Container Ship Safety Forum. What is the focus and goals of the Initiative?
Søren Thuen: Launched in 2014 and incorporated as a registered association in 2018, the Container Ship Safety Forum e.V. (CSSF) is an industry association and global business-to-business network aiming to improve safety performance and management practices in the container shipping industry. To achieve this, CSSF members collaborate through measurement, reporting and benchmarking as well as sharing best practices and engaging with industry stakeholders. With its 32 members, the CSSF represents more than 50% of the worldwide available TEU capacity on fully cellular container vessels.
S4S: What are the top priorities in your agenda for the next five years?
S.Th.: The top priority is the safety of our seafarers and assets. During the next five years we are focusing on life saving appliances, safety of navigation as well as cargo fires.
S4S: What are the lessons learned from the latest maritime accidents concerning containerships?
S.Th.: In CSSF, our standardized benchmarking allows us for qualified discussions and knowledge sharing in relation to personal injuries, amongst others safety aspects. As an example, we identified a shared concern amongst members regarding the whole concept of traditional lifeboats and launching arrangements which have contributed to many injuries and even fatalities during regular maintenance and drills. Hence our latest call for action.
S4S: Are you satisfied with progress made towards improving safety performance of containerships? What would you like to see up to 2030?
S.Th.: We see a solid buy-in of the members where we jointly have established benchmarks and best practices resulting in a year-by-year improvement in the loss-time-injury frequency throughout the existence of the CSSF. We would like to see the good work and collaboration of our members to continue and we welcome any container ship management company to join the CSSF and share their knowledge, experience and perspective as well as to benefit from the expertise already gathered in the forum.
S4S: Is technology advancement in ships a contributing factor to increase risk of casualties onboard container vessels?
S.Th.: From our perspective technology advancement has been and will continue to be a contributing factor to safety of life at sea.
S4S: What is your wish list for the industry and/or regulators and all parties involved with respect to container ship safety?
S.Th.: A continuous good and open dialogue between all industry stakeholders in which we believe the CSSF is a natural part.
S4S: What is your message to industry stakeholders for enhancing safety performance onboard containerships?
S.Th.: We all have the shared agenda of improving safety performance in the industry and we need to ensure that our seafarers at the frontline operations are part of the equation. With the implementation of any new technology or regulation we must avoid an unnecessary increase of complexity on board.
The views presented are only those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
