Tag: safety management systems

DMAIB has issued an investigation report on the sinking of the small German motorboat RIGI, in Faxe Bay, Denmark, about 1 nm from shore. The investigation showed that the choice of boat, its equipment, its operation, and its manning influenced the events on the day of the accident. 

In 2007, the Hong Kong-flagged container ship ‘Cosco Busan’ allided with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, causing one of the most discussed oil spills in US waters. The incident is a good example of how lack of communication can lead to serious environmental incidents.

The US Coast Guard has detained several Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI)-flagged ships operating in the US during the first quarter of 2019, for purportedly failing to follow, or fully implement, a Safety Management System (SMS), the RMI announced. 

In 2007, the enclosed space fatality incident onboard the ERRV vessel Viking Islay off UK shocked shipping community as three men died successively trying to rescue one another. Enclosed space entry has been over the years the hidden enemy for crews.

In 2007 the bulk carrier ‘Pasha Bulker’ came out at the Nobbys Beach of New South Wales offering an unusual spectacle for local people. The incident is an interesting case study of inadequate communication, inefficient SMS, poor judgement due to fatigue and the objective cause of extreme weather conditions.

This time, our special column, in association with The North of England P&I Club, sheds focus on safety management asking industry experts whether a change is being noticed, considering that the ISM Code, which firstly introduced Safety Management Systems as the core requirement, has turned 20 years old! 

An explosion and fire aboard the articulated tug and barge 'Buster Bouchard' was the result of a lack of effective maintenance and safety management of the barge by the owner company, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report released Thursday.

NTSB published its report on the fire that took place on board the cargo ship Chipolbrok Moon, on May 23, 2018. The fire occurred while the ship was moored at the Industrial Terminal West in Greens Bayou in the Port of Houston, Texas. The probable cause of the fire aboard cargo vessel Chipolbrok Moon was the crew’s lack of compliance to the company’s safety management system.

The grounding of the general cargo ship ‘Harvest Caroline’ constitutes an interesting case study of how inconsistent implementation of ISM can lead to unpleasant situations. 

Industry insiders are for many years now, pinpointing the urgent need for seafarers to be trained as human beings and the importance of considering the underlying factors behind accidents too and it seems that in that way, we have been better thinkers. How, therefore, has the so-called human factor been considered as a symptom and not as a cause with the passage of time?