Tag: safety measures

Coast Guard encourages commercial fishermen in Alaska to focus on safety

Barents Sea oil drilling safety examined by Norway

IMO Working Group on the Evaluation of Safety and Pollution Hazards

ATSB report systemic found safety issues re pilot training & fatigue management (Photo: Queenland coast/ Great Barrier Reef - satellite photo)Systemic safety issues in Queensland coastal pilotage operations have been identified in an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report.Coastal pilots form a key defence against a serious shipping incident in parts of the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait as part of a suite of broader protective measures already in place.(Photo credit: ATSB)The ATSB began an investigation into coastal pilotage operations in December 2010 following the release of its report into the grounding of the piloted tanker Atlantic Blue in the Torres Strait and a request from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)-the coastal pilotage safety regulator. That report identified safety issues affecting coastal pilotage which indicated that other systemic issues may also exist that would benefit from the ATSB further investigating.The ATSB's safety issue investigation found that under the coastal pilotage regulations, no organisation, including the pilotage provider companies, has been made clearly responsible and held accountable for managing the safety risks associated with pilotage operations. This has meant that responsibility for managing the most safety critical aspects of pilotage has rested with individual pilot contractors instead of ...

Coast Guard and Partners in Placentia Bay for Response Exercise

EU law into line with the revised standards set by IMO Parliament endorsed crucial improvements to minimum levels of training, updated medical fitness requirements and tougher certification standards for seafarers on Tuesday. This will bring EU law into line with the revised standards set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and adopted by member states.The IMO's recent update of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarer's (STCWS) made significant changes designed to prevent fraud in obtaining certificates, raise medical standards and improve security training, including measures related to piracy and armed robbery.MEPs have also ensured that the new rules will preserve the EU's stricter limits on exemptions to minimum rest periods and they insist that the requirements for rest periods must be maintained in the case of drill.In addition, the text, which has been agreed with the Council, mandates the Commission to collect data on personnel operating in EU waters, for statistical purposes, in order to get a better picture of the seafarer profession in Europe.The legislation was adopted 619 votes in favour to 16 against and 16 abstentionsSource: EUROPA

Vessel operators urged to step up safety

Jamaica Ship Registry enhancing Maritime Safety

IMO rules should be subject to impact and sustainability assessment says ICS There are some clearly identifiable steps which need to be taken to enhance shipping's already very impressive record of maritime safety, according to International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe.Speaking at the IMO Alternative World Maritime Day Event in Bahrain this week, Mr Hinchliffe stressed the need for mandatory provisions to provide a place of refuge for ships in need of assistance, plus timely and obligatory reporting of casualty investigations by Flag States to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This would replicate the handling of aviation incidents.Environmental protection and crew and passenger safety can be addressed better by raising the current level of guidance on providing a place of refuge to a new level of obligation, he said.Pointing out that accidents may happen even under the most stringent regulatory regimes, Mr Hinchliffe said the industry's ability to learn from such incidents was hampered when accident investigations were not conducted in a timely fashion or the outcomes were not reported to the IMO."The track record of rapidly decreasing environmental impact by the shipping industry is the most powerful measure of the steady increase in the safe design, ...

NOAA and American Pilots Association sign MoA to advance safe navigtion