Tag: safety management systems

While recovering the starboard accommodation ladder onboard a Hong Kong-flagged general cargo ship, a deck officer fell overboard from the last few steps of the ladder and was later found dead. Hong Kong MARDEP shared lessons learned from the incident.

TSB Canada released an investigation report into the grounding of the barge Lafarge Eagle while under tow of the tug Mauna Loa in the Fraser River, BC, on November 1, 2020. After investigation, TSB noted that an SMS is only effective at mitigating risks only if it includes a formal risk assessment process. 

RMI issued an investigation report on the fatal electrocution of a fitter onboard the tanker ANGEL 17 while underway in South Pacific in October 2020. After the incident, the company’s SMS was amended to require using insulating mats for any electrical welding in wet or damp areas.

Safety and its link to human factors is a multi-discussed issue for shipping, an industry, which has seen, several times, a simple omission leading to disastrous consequences. But how can safety management be properly implemented to minimize such adverse occurrences?

A total of 57 ships were detained in the US in 2020, marking a decrease in the annual ship detention rate from 1.10% to 0.77%, the USCG said in its PSC Annual Report for 2020. While ship detentions related to fire safety and lifesaving systems remained similar to the past few years, MARPOL Annex I deficiencies decreased in the last year, the report reveals. 

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) issued its investigation report on the bottom contact of the passenger ferry 'Deer Island Princess II' near Letete, New Brunswick, in February 2018, determining that common safety hazards, such as extremely low tides, had not been identified and mitigated by the operator of the vessel.

RMI issued an investigation report on the fatal fall of a seafarer from a portable ladder onboard the bulk carrier Sfera, while underway in the Philippine Sea, in June 2020. The investigation highlighted non-compliance with SMS procedures with respect to safe use of portable ladders and use of PPE.

The US Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has updated the Vessel Cyber Risk Management Work Instruction, to include a compliance timeline for Non Safety Management System vessels that are subject to the Marine Transportation Safety Act of 2002.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) issued an investigation report into the striking of a dock by the roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry 'Spirit of Vancouver Island' in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, in April 2020. The investigation identified gaps in the effectiveness of safety management.

TSB Canada issued an investigation report on the collision of the bulk carriers Golden Cecilie and Green K-Max 1 in the Plumper Sound, British Columbia, in March 2020. The Golden Cecilie suffered dragging anchor due to heavy winds, the report reveals, stressing that the crew did not follow established procedures to ready the vessel for impending adverse weather conditions.