Ensuring that the results of casualty investigations are published
Nautilus has backed calls from international shipowners for action to ensure that flag states discharge their responsibilities to publish accident investigation reports.
The Union has welcomed the International Chamber of Shipping’s suggestion that new measures should be introduced to ensure that the results of casualty investigations are published so that important safety lessons are not missed.
The ICS condemned Italy’s failure to produce a report on the Costa Concordia accident within a year of the incident as ‘simply unacceptable’. Chairman Masamichi Morooka commented: ‘We still have no official understanding of what the underlying causes were with respect to an accident that really should never have happened.’
The ICS board has agreedto forward proposals to IMO on strengthening the obligations of flag states with respect to casualty reports – possibly by applying the European Union requirements on a global basis.
Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said he welcomed the ICS intervention, which follows the Union’s recent renewed calls for Panama to publish a long-awaited report on the loss of the livestock carrier Danny FII. ‘It is appalling that major flag states are failing to publish the results of investigations and we fully support the ICS on this issue,’ he added. ‘We believe the role of the IMO should be reiterated, and there should be some sort of independent investigation team that could be deployed where flag states fail to investigate or don’t have resources.’
Source: Nautilus International
