Incident reporting in Finnish shipping companies

The purpose of the International Safety Management Code (the ISM Code) is to promote safety culture in the maritime industry. Learning the lessons from incidents should help to improve safety performance since incidents and accidents can share the same root causes. The aim of this paper is to take a closer look at incident reporting in the Finnish shipping industry, to study the reasons for poor incident reporting and to suggest improvements to increase reporting. The paper consists of a literature study, which focuses on previous studies concerning incident reporting, and an interview study, which focuses on Finnish shipping companies and their personnel. The interview study confirmed that incident reporting does not function properly within the Finnish maritime industry. The maritime personnel have an occupational culture which is incompatible with the rule-based safety management approach provided by the ISM Code. The willingness to report incidents could be increased if all seafarers were involved in the reporting process and the preparation of corrective actions. In addition, the reporting procedures should be streamlined and developed to a more user-friendly direction.     

Maritime safety and the ISM code: a study of investigated casualties and incidents

In 1993, the International Maritime Organization adopted the International Safety Management (ISM) Code which requires all shipping companies operating certain types of vessels to establish safety management systems. Nevertheless, two decades later, maritime safety remains a concern. This article studies 94 maritime cases investigated by the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch in the UK. By providing an analysis of reported casualties and incidents, it highlights current challenges in maritime safety. For each casualty and incident, the study reviews the underlying causal factors. These causal factors are then coded according to the functional sections of the ISM Code, covering various aspects of safety management. To investigate human and organizational factors involved in the casualties and incidents, the human factor analysis and classification system (HFACS) is applied to code the same data. Finally, the relative seriousness of casualties and incidents is considered to discuss the findings from ISM Code and HFACS reviews. The study found that the main challenges pertain to the development of plans for shipboard operations, local shipboard management, and the ability of the company to verify when such practices deviate from best practices or required standards.     

Hazardous material incidents: Some key results of a risk analysis

Human safety and health, environmental and property protection and security concerning hazardous materials supply chain are important issues for many countries, industries and organisations around the world. This paper presents some key results of a comprehensive risk study on hazardous materials supply chain incidents. Based on a risk analysis framework adapted for maritime transport of packaged dangerous goods, this study combines qualitative and quantitative analysis of large and diverse datasets collected from some of the U.S.’s best and largest data sources. The study may be one of the largest of its kind, and some of the results might not be found elsewhere. Incidents have occurred in every system of the hazardous materials supply chain, including platforms, all modes of transport, chemical plants, terminals and storages. The results show that more than half (52.1 %) of incidents are attributed to the transport system. The study largely considers incidents happening during maritime transport, which account for 18% of transport incidents. In absolute terms, the FN curves of maritime transport human risks are generally found to be well below the corresponding FN curves of aggregated supply chain human risks.     

A study of maritime security and piracy

This paper studies the contributing factors of maritime piracy by analyzing previous incidents that have been reported to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Part of the analysis is to filter those ship types that are particularly vulnerable to piracy attacks. The paper also introduces the guidelines developed by the IMO and the industry envisaging to minimize the risk to ships that are exposed to attacks from pirates. It further describes the initiatives taken to develop a sustainable mechanism in the high-risk area (HRA)¹ to suppress piracy and other maritime crimes. This study reflects the fact that maritime security and piracy issues’ importance has been increasingly recognized in the 40 year history of Maritime Policy & Management.     

提高海上突发事件应对能力的思考

文中通过分析海上突发事件特点以及应对处置中存在的突出问题，结合当前国内国际的一些做法，提出提高我国海上突发事件应对能力的一些设想和对策，以保障海上人命财产安全，保护海洋环境的清洁，促进经济社会的发展。     

Maritime safety: To be or not to be proactive

The purpose of this paper is to address important issues regarding policy formulation in the maritime safety area. The main thesis of the paper is that there is some way to achieve a truly proactive maritime safety regime, and there even seems to be recent progress toward this end. A qualitative assessment on the nature of maritime safety policies and on the way that these are put forward is attempted, along with some opinions on the possible pitfalls and on what needs to be done so that this process can be further improved.     

Effective maritime security: conceptual model and empirical evidence

In recent years, the issue of maritime security has become a major concern on the international maritime agenda. One of the issues in this respect is how to enhance security while not jeopardizing organizational efficiency and effectiveness, or to manage security effectively, e.g. facilitating the smooth flows of materials while enhancing supply chain security at the same time. In addressing this issue, we place three cornerstones for the effective management of security in maritime transport: quality management (QM), risk management (RM) and business continuity management (BCM). A conceptual model of effective maritime security, including 13 dimensions and 24 associated critical success factors, is devised following this reasoning. The model was tested through a survey of 119 maritime transport organizations and 25 interviews conducted in Vietnam. Findings support that all proposed 24 factors are valid and should be used as critical factors for success in effectively managing security in maritime transport, in that those involving security incident handling and response are rated as the most important in magnitude, along with security risk assessment, risk-based security mitigation strategies and plans, and senior management commitment and leadership. Managers can use the model designed and tested in this research to develop a checklist of essential components for their company's security management policies, strategies and plans. The use of a universal checklist to evaluate maritime security management would also greatly facilitate benchmarking across organizations in the industry.     

Undeclared dangerous goods — Risk implications for maritime transport

Dangerous goods that have not been correctly declared when offered for transport have contributed to some serious accidents at sea. Safe handling, stowage, and segregation of packaged dangerous goods cannot be carried out if there is no knowledge of the presence of dangerous goods inside the cargo transport unit (container and/or trailer), or if the goods have been incorrectly declared. Although undeclared dangerous goods are recognized as a safety issue in the shipping industry, there is little information available on the extent of the risk involved. The study described in this paper was carried out to investigate the extent and potential consequences of the maritime transport of undeclared dangerous goods. Dangerous goods incident and inspection reports and ship casualty data were reviewed and analysed. A generic qualitative model was constructed to illustrate contributing factors and potential consequences in incidents involving undeclared dangerous goods.     

How remote is remote pilotage?

“Today, the idea of allowing aircraft pilots to operate as they see fit, without any control from the land, is unthinkable. Will the same things apply to ships in twenty to thirty years’ time?”Current maritime pilotage regimes are clearly seen in some quarters as too restrictive and old fashioned. Change is “in the air” and VTS, pilotage, and the relationship between them cannot be immune to it. Subject to the attainment of the appropriate standards by both ships and their crews there is no practical reason why more flexible Vessel Traffic Management cannot be introduced. The required technology is largely available and, with the introduction of AIS, the required dynamic data can be available. Technical problems foreseen are believed capable of solution. The more significant obstacles to implementation are, therefore, largely political, commercial, organisational, and cultural. These issues are discussed in this paper taking into account the viewpoints of major stakeholders.     

A study on time constraints and task deviations at sea leading to accidents – a cultural-historical perspective

The high frequency of maritime accidents and incidents occurring at sea has been a major challenge for the maritime industry in the last decades. The majority of these accidents are attributed to seafarers’ poor performance. This, despite the fact that the international maritime domain continues to adopt and update conventions regulating maritime safety to mitigate these accidents from occurring. In this paper, utilising a qualitative research approach, we show through a socio-cultural contextual perspective that time constraints as a major influencing factor in causing task deviations at sea which leads to dangerous situations. We analyse how some of the present barriers in place to prevent accidents at sea are in effect prompt seafarers who are working under time pressure to deviate from their task. Moreover, the paper discusses the social constituents such as job insecurity and the seafarers’ viewpoint towards the ship operators’ commitment to safe ship operations are crucial in motivating seafarers’ deviating from the task at hand when faced with time pressure.     

US antitrust policy and liner conferences in the age of intermodalism

This article examines the uncertainties concerning the antiturst immunity for collective participation by liner conferences in intermodal transporation. Among them are the FMC's jurisdiction under the Shipping Act to authorize such collective actions, the legality of intermodal dual-rate contracts and the stringency by lsquo;public-interestrsquo; justification. Administrative and judicial decisions proved ineffective in resolving the issues which legislative actions had, over a decade, failed to deal with. These uncertainties could soon be ended with passage of the maritime antiturst polity emerging out of this Congress. It is, however, still uncertain as to whether, and to what extent, the viabilty of the conference system would be threatened by the continued growth of intermodalism and vice versa. Congressional intent to safeguard the continued growth of intermodalism and the development of other future innovations means that these two issues are of more than just academic interests. Yet, they have not been adequately addressed in the policy studies currently available.     

Crew resource management training in the maritime industry: a literature review

The study is based on a literature review of recent empirical research on crew resource management (CRM) training in the maritime industry, organised around what non-technical skills to learn and how. The review indicates that existing work is dominated by individualistic theories of learning with less focus on learning as a social process. Five main categories of skills that need to be trained are identified: assertiveness, decision-making, communication, situation awareness and team coordination. We argue that it is necessary to operationalise these broad concepts further, emphasising the work context and crew-specific needs. The review also shows that a combination of classroom lectures and simulator-based exercises is commonly used in maritime education and training in these skills. The learning effect seems to be suffering from training programmes that are exported ‘as is’ from aviation and not adjusted to the maritime domain or to operation-specific needs. This paper examines maritime crew resource management training from a social learning perspective, involving the view that learning is a context bound, social process that might take place in communities of practice (CoP). A CoP is a group (e.g. a crew) wherein members share an activity and learn from each other. It is argued that CRM training programmes will benefit from including a social learning perspective. Factors that enable the assessment of teams are discussed, and it is argued that the training should be tailored to existing crews, emphasising a learning environment as close to reality as possible.     

Global maritime domain awareness: a sustainable development perspective

The International Maritime Organization defines maritime domain awareness as the effective understanding of any activity that could impact upon the security, safety, economy or environment. The traditional approach to manage it is based on state sovereignty over national territorial waters where authorities exercise their responsibilities within the defined specific area. Lately, new issues of transboundary dimension (i.e. piracy, overfishing, pollution) are changing the high seas from an open space governed by the rule of freedom into a common domain requiring new governance approach to manage its complex international problems. This paper investigates the use of sustainable development methodology to explore governance solutions within the socio-technical domain of maritime awareness. The outcome suggests that the use of sustainable development tools can and should be used to support the development and implementation of cooperative governance models which are more appropriate for creating global maritime domain awareness than the traditional state-centric and sector-based models. A modelling diagram for potential governance framework under International Maritime Organization’s leadership is included.     

Offshore Petroleum Development and Potential

This article examines the uncertainties concerning the antiturst immunity for collective participation by liner conferences in intermodal transporation. Among them are the FMC's jurisdiction under the Shipping Act to authorize such collective actions, the legality of intermodal dual-rate contracts and the stringency by lsquo;public-interestrsquo; justification. Administrative and judicial decisions proved ineffective in resolving the issues which legislative actions had, over a decade, failed to deal with. These uncertainties could soon be ended with passage of the maritime antiturst polity emerging out of this Congress. It is, however, still uncertain as to whether, and to what extent, the viabilty of the conference system would be threatened by the continued growth of intermodalism and vice versa. Congressional intent to safeguard the continued growth of intermodalism and the development of other future innovations means that these two issues are of more than just academic interests. Yet, they have not been adequately addressed in the policy studies currently available.     

关于海事行政执法自由裁量权的几点思考

文章论述了海事行政执法自由裁量权的定义、种类和目前行使海事行政执法自由裁量权存在的问题及造成这种问题的原因，提出了正确行使规范海事行政执法自由裁量权的建议。     

Maritime interests in the EU policy-making: Structures,practices, and governability of collective action

Throughout Europe, a number of maritime interests have re-targeted their lobbying structures and strategies aiming to influence the development of the maritime related European Union (EU) policies. The paper examines these maritime interests’ mobilisation in the making of the Common EU Maritime Transport Policy (CMTP). First, it provides a review of the role of these interest groups and the implications of the observed collective interests’ representation. Then, with the contribution a data-set of replies to a questionnaire distributed to all the interest groups that are involved in EU maritime affairs, the paper analyses the variety of interest groups representing the maritime sector in EU affairs. The focus is on the structures (i.e. membership numbers and types, location, internal structures, budget) and the lobbying practices of the 37 identified EU level maritime related organisations. The paper also presents an evaluation of the most positive and most negative parameters of the ‘EU environment’ and the ‘economic environment’ that assist, or undermine, the governability cohesiveness of this collective action. This study provides information on whether and under what conditions maritime interests are able to form comprehensive EU-level organisations capable of representing their members and their interests in the EU policy making process     

Use of simulators in assessment,learning and teaching of mariners

High standard shipping is to a large extent dependent on the availability of high standard human resources both at sea and ashore. High standard human resources at sea require well-qualified mariners who are capable of navigating ships safely. Numerous maritime accidents and incidents have highlighted the crucial role that mariners have in avoiding casualties and maintaining clean oceans.     

AIS（CLASS B）船台在应用中需要关注的问题

AIS系统是一种融合现代技术的新型航海助航设备，其对于船舶安全航行、海上交通安全管理、航海安全保障等具有重要作用。时至今日，AIS系统的作用已在我国获得广泛的社会认知，渔船也将推广使用AIS（CLASSB）船台。然而，由于国际标准正在逐步完善等多方面原因，MS（CLASSB）船台在我国的推广可能会遇到一些问题。文中从AIS系统标准、AIS功能、我国AIS岸台系统的建设等几方面分析阐述了所面临的问题，并就此提出了建议，以资借鉴。     

Evaluating the knowledge of experts in the maritime regulatory field

Regulations are introduced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) into the maritime industry as the result of safety accidents and/or pollution incidents. When there is lack of historical data, then the IMO appoints experts in order to collect information regarding the costs and benefits generated to a stakeholder of the maritime industry once implementing a maritime regulation. Therefore, the role of experts in providing qualitative and quantitative information is crucial with respect to the quality of the maritime regulatory process within the IMO or other regulatory authorities. In this article, a methodology is proposed involving common criteria in determining the expertise of an individual in the maritime regulatory field. As essential part of the research methodology, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is utilized to determine the expertise of an individual based on his/her own judgements. The regulatory authorities and other stakeholders of the maritime industry may use this method when selecting experts for decision-making. In this article, a simulation is carried showing the potentials of the AHP methodology in expertise evaluation followed by a case study.     

An analysis and comparison of multinational officers of the watch in the global maritime labor market

ABSTRACT

Officer of the watch (OOW) is an important part of the maritime labor market. For many years, countries have been improving their development of OOWs for the maritime market, in terms of both quantity and quality. As the supply of qualified OOWs for maritime transportation is such an important issue, shipping companies recruit multinational OOWs for both economic and socio-cultural reasons. This study aims to identify the qualifications of an ideal officer that holds office on commercial ships, and to make a comparison among Filipino, Chinese, Indian, Eastern European and Turkish OOWs. The research takes into account expert opinions of a number of shipping companies that employ multinational seafarers. A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) technique is applied in this study to assist in the comparison of officers. A number of main and sub-criteria are outlined to determine both positive and negative aspects of OOWs from the selected countries for decision making purposes. This study allows maritime countries to evaluate their maritime education and training policies for selection and assessment of OOWs.