INVESTIGATION

Part 1 – Merchant Vessels
It is an honour
to be asked to
write the forward
to this MAIB
Safety Digest. The
Marine Accident
Investigation
Branch undertake
a vital role in
investigating and
reporting on the
sadly far too many
accidents and
incidents which take place in our industry every
year. The inspectors do this in a way that seeks to
establish the facts and causes so lessons can be
learnt rather than apportion blame – imperative
if we are to prevent further accidents. These
incidents can happen at any time and in any
sector and tragically all too often result in serious
injury or loss of life.
This digest provides a timely round up of the
breadth of incidents from the capsize of a coastal
cement carrier with the loss of all hands to an
exploding grinding disc. It is written in a style
that draws the reader in and makes individuals
think very carefully about the sequence of
events leading to the accident and how we can
learn the lessons to ensure that they do not take
place again. I have always been an avid reader
both during my time at sea and now ashore
and as always the common thread throughout
the reports is all too often complacency,
communication and perceived commercial
pressures that cause individuals to act in a way
that set off the series of events which ultimately
ends in tragedy.
We must never forget that shipping is about
seafarers who go about their work in often
difficult and harsh conditions. The most
important thing to their families is that they
return home safely at the end of each trip. It can’t
be right that our industry has a fatal accident rate
20 times that of the average British worker and
five times that of construction. Here at the UK
Chamber of Shipping in 2017 we are embarking
on a new leadership role on safety, bringing
together seafarers, managers and regulators to
work together to enable a step change in safety
performance. The MAIB will undoubtedly play a
central role in this and ultimately we want to be
able to look the families in the eye and tell them
their father, mother, son or daughter works in the
safest industry in the world.
So I would urge you to read each of the reports
carefully and ask yourself the question ‘how
would I have reacted in this situation?’ At all
levels of the industry we need to change the way
we think, to change our safety culture so that we
always ‘do the right thing’ because ‘it’s the right
thing to do’.
2
MAIB Safety Digest 1/2017