Nearly every day we see reports about different calamities happening at sea. In most of the cases investigation comes to the conclusion which can be generalised as human error or human factor. This is no surprise as all ships are being manned, managed and operated by humans.
The Maritime Telegraph tried to find out, what the human factor can lead to and what “safety culture” at sea includes. Board Director of Intelligent Management & Crisis Response Solutions Alexander Dimitrevich has been dealing with safety issues on board for a long time, he told us about more about it.
Whatever happened whether it’s a collision, capsize, oil spill, piracy or even a suicide on board it can always be referred to as ‘human error’ which led to bad management, bad navigation skills, violation of procedures or even bullying. In reality these calamities happen because of many factors and again all of them are ‘human related’ or a ‘human factor’. There is always a question was it a deliberate violation of orders and instructions? For example in the recent Pallada case in Busan a port in South Korea where they reported that the ship and the crew tried to escape because their ship owner being on board had made such an order despite International Maritime Law. Or was it an attempt to ‘save’ or ‘steal’ money like in many cases by using ‘magic pipe’ or other malpractices during bunkering operations for example?
Or maybe it happened because of fatigue, which is frequently the case when seafarers being too exhausted ‘forget’ to comply with safety procedures. Or probably because of bad education and communication skills including their language? Or because of some sort of mentality when people tend to think that rules and laws exist not to be followed but to be avoided. It is hard to believe but for some this is like a life statement and they are quite sure that everyone breaks the law and there is nothing particular in doing so. The basic cost of this trait and believe is that this people are quite often being jailed as suspects of being involved in illegal activities such as drug trafficking or other criminal acts. Unfortunately, criminalization of seafarers doing their good job is increasing. It is a small percentage but it is growing and it’s a pity that many of them are innocent but suffering because of others who think and act in the way I mentioned.
Sometime incidents happened due to combination of factors mentioned above but, no doubt, loose lips save ships or lives. Which means that if you see something wrong is happening then inform the company. Do everything possible to report about any break of safety procedures or criminal offence as most of companies are interested about what is happening on board their ships and seriously treat with reports from their crewmembers. Some companies even have their ‘whistleblowing or reporting telephone lines’. So, do report but if no response, then you have no choice but to blow the whistle. Whistleblowing is officially defined as, “making a disclosure that is in the public interest”. It will usually occur when an employee discloses to a public body – usually law enforcement or a regulatory body – that their employer is partaking in unlawful practices. The risks of raising an issue can cause problems and it is the thought which many seafarers have. Good question to reliable companies is: if seafarers speak out, will they be heard, listened too, respected and their fears acted upon? If seafarers speak out will they be safe from recriminations and reprisals?
Bullying and vendettas can break out on vessels, while seafarers can sometimes find themselves unofficially “blacklisted” from employment. That’s the seafarers fears and if the company wants to know the real picture on board it should set up a two ways communication protocol encouraging seafarers to talk especially if they see wrong things are happening. Let seafarers know how it works and what would happen to the information that they pass on. Explain who is going to be a designated person dealing with the case and how they would conduct an investigation. Ensure that there are no blame policies. All these measures will help to build trust.
Not much could or should be done from seafarers end however each professional may want to find out what are the existing reporting procedures in the company. How the system works. What are the guarantees from company’s end? Last but not least remember that trifle things may produce big trouble and that safety must become part of our culture incorporated into our core values and believes.
