While most people may view slips, trips and falls as simple accidents, and a fact of life, they can pose a serious danger to the health of crew aboard ships. This time, our special column, in association with The North of England P&I Club, gives emphasis on slips, trips and falls which are the reason for many personal injury claims.
The third SAFETY4SEA Limassol Forum successfully concluded on Tuesday 11th of March 2020 at the Columbia Venue Centre of Columbia Plaza, Limassol, Cyprus. The event focused on the main present and future challenges for shipping industry, equally divided to safety and environmental issues.
Every year, the UK P&I Club deals with thousands of claims using the expertise and experience of its professional claims handlers, ex-seafarers and lawyers. With decades of research into loss prevention issues, the Club has developed a formidable body of technical material on maritime risks.
During the first SAFETY4SEA Forum in Manila, Mailyn Borillo, President, OSM, discussed the human element, sharing best practices beyond compliance, further underlining that life skills improve seafarer’s wellbeing, yet are the most neglected part of employees’ development. The main challenges of seafarers are challenges on family relationships; mental and physical sickness and further financial burdens, she stressed.
On the occasion of these important developments in 2019, Mr. David Hammond Esq., Barrister (Non-Practising), CEO, Human Rights At Sea shares his insights into achieving greater equality, justice and freedom within the maritime industry in the next years, highlighting that not much progress has been made so far while wider awareness on this important topic is of outmost importance.
Capt. Yiannis Kapageridis, QA Superintendent, addresses the challenge of engaging and re-engaging seafarers. Namely, engagement can keep a seafarer motivated on the task in hand while also taking good care of themselves as well as those around them and performing their responsibilities efficiently.
During the first SAFETY4SEA Forum in Manila, Capt. Albert E. Bartilad, Vice President and COO of Manila Shipmanagement & Manning, Inc. and Vice President and CTO of the Manship Maritime Training Center, Inc. shed light on a relatively modern concept: safer, smarter seafaring through soft skills training. Capt. Bartilad believes that competence, while necessary, does not always guarantee performance. Accidents, he stresses, will always happen, and he advocates the development of resilient crew who can perform in difficult situations as the key to preventing greater loss.
The Philippines has a long history of fatal maritime accidents. This time, SAFETY4SEA focuses on the deadly sinking of the ‘Princess of the Orient’. The ferry sank off Fortune Island, near the provinces of Cavite and Batangas, on September 18, 1998, claiming the lives of 150 people. Extreme weather conditions, along with ‘’erroneous maneuvering of the vessel by the captain’’, were the immediate causes of the accident.
In a new report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GOA) recommends that the U.S. Navy should take further measures in order to improve training quality. In fact, with the aim to improve ship-driving skills, the Navy has added classroom and simulator training for the Surface Warfare Officers who drive these ships, since 2017, when ship collisions resulted in the loss of 17 sailors’ lives as well as significant damage to Navy ships.
The Swedish Club has launched a new edition of Navigational Claims, aiming to provide an insight into the causes of incidents such as containers tumbling into the sea and environmental damage, further offering comprehensive loss prevention advice in order to avoid them.
