Published by the North of England P&I Association and Sunderland Marine, the safety guide below is targeted at the commercial fishing industry. It highlights the risks associated with fishing vessels, but has many topics that are relevant to all vessels.
Safe Out, Safe Home : A Safety Guide for New Fishing Crew
The American Club has released a series of comic pamphlets for Members dealing with matters of safety, protection of the marine environment and maritime security. The comics are available for downloading via Adobe Acrobat pdf files as found below.
Shipboard Safety – It is commonly understood that the diligence of shipowners, ship managers, and crew is imperative in ensuring shipboard safety. Nevertheless, the ‘rubber meets the road’ with the seafarer who is ultimately responsible for ensuring safety and environmental protection as well as being the agent through whom proper safety measures are implemented.
The safety of the seafarer is the most important concern. When looking at personal injury claims, we find that it is the small things that lead to injuries such as trips, falls, improper lifting, lifeboat drills and entry into enclosed spaces.
Shipboard Safety is a reminder to seafarers about safe work practices that prevent and mitigate accidents associated with the daily hazards of working onboard ship. A strong safety culture, safety awareness, situational awareness and due diligence are key to reducing the incidence of human error leading to accidents.
Safety Management Systems – A safety management system is proven and essential tool for achieving loss prevention success for both international shipping under the International Safety Management (ISM) Code and U.S. inland waterway operators and on non-compulsory vessels under the U.S. Code of Federal Regulation Subchapter M, towing vessels safety management system option for compliance.
The booklet, Safety Management Systems, aims to assist both seafarers and shoreside personnel to understanding the basic principles to implement local and international safety management system for both seagoing and shoreside personnel.
Preventing Fatigue – It is a widely-held misconception today that complexity equals sophistication and effectiveness. By contrast, Preventing Fatigue is the antithesis of complexity. Its at-a-glance format, made memorable by an undercurrent of humor, delivers a serious message that everyone can understand and absorb. Most importantly, the message is one we hope will have a genuinely positive effect on reducing the effects of fatigue as a root cause of human error in maritime accidents.
Protecting the Marine Environment – The contribution which the shipping industry can make to the conservation of the marine environment is clearly of vital importance. Despite public perceptions to the contrary, reinforced by a popular media often hostile to maritime enterprise, the shipping industry’s record in avoiding ship-sourced pollution is thoroughly creditable.
However, this reality cannot exonerate the maritime transportation industry from the imperative of seeking constant improvement in this area, nor has it had any influence on the implementation by coastal States of increasingly Draconian measures aimed at shipowners and those who serve at sea when accidents happen.