The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch has issued its Annual Report for 2012. According to the report , last year has been a year of consolidation. New working practices, whichwere developed in the wake of the headcount and budget cuts of 2011, have been finetuned and the work of the MAIB continues to receive praise from industry stakeholders.
July 2012 saw the introduction of new regulations: the Merchant Shipping (AccidentReporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012. The primary purpose of these was totranspose Directive 2009/18/EC which establishes fundamental principles of marineaccident investigation across the European Union.
A number of issues identified duringMAIB investigations are worthy of note:
● A collision between the cargo vessels Seagate and Timor Stream, which occurredin March 2012, was one of several similar accidents reported to the MAIB whereexperienced seafarers either ignored or did not know the requirements of the COLREGS.In this case, the investigation quickly identified that the watchkeepers on the two vessels,both of whom were senior officers, did not maintain even the most rudimentary levelof watchkeeping. Of particular concern is the message this behaviour sends to juniorofficers and how it may influence the next generation of master mariners. One of thebiggest challenges faced by ship managers is ensuring that company safety managementsystems are being adhered to at all times.
● The excessive consumption of alcohol by watchkeepers on commercial vessels is apersistent problem. This was typified by the collision between the coaster Union Moonand the passenger ferry Stena Feronia (MAIB Report 26/2012) in which the master, whowas alone on the bridge of Union Moon, was found to be drunk. Alcohol was also anissue when the feeder container vessel Karin Schepers grounded off the Cornish coast(MAIB Report 10/2012.) In both cases the companies concerned operated drug andalcohol policies that were weak and ineffective.
● The small fishing vessels Heather Anne, Purbeck Isle and Sarah Jayne were tragicallylost, partly because they were overloaded. There is currently no requirement for small(ie <15m length overall) fishing vessels to be assessed for stability and the skippers ofthese boats often have little or no understanding about the importance of stability andfreeboard.
Find more information at UK MAIB Annual Report 2012
