Bureau Veritas, TMC Marine and London P&I Club - Guidance on Reducing On-Board Systemic Failures

• Bureau Veritas, TMC Marine, the casualty and salvage experts, and the London P&I Club, have teamed up again to address risk in shipping – to help prevent injury, loss of life and damage to ships and to cargo

• The focus this time is on better on-board systems to meet the requirements of the ISM Code’s Safety Management Systems to reduce risk and develop a culture of continual improvement

Bureau Veritas and TMC Marine, a Bureau Veritas Group Company since 2016, and the London P&I Club have produced their latest guidance in their loss prevention series focussing on better on-board systems.

The new publication focuses on systemic failures on board ships in response to a global trend of increases in system deficiencies related to the requirements of the International Safety Management (ISM) code. Systemic failures and deficiencies may lead to ship detention by port state control, to pollution, or, at worst, to injuries and fatalities. This new booklet provides clear, practical advice to help prevent systemic failures. Key elements highlighted include the management of change, as well as work planning meetings and the importance of a Permit to Work system. The circular nature of the Safety Management System (SMS) is also emphasized.

Laurent Leblanc, Marine Operations Vice President, Bureau Veritas, said, “Increasingly marine casualties, incidents and risk are related to on-board systems and safety management. The data and our experience shows this very clearly. For example, how many times have we read an example of an enclosed space incident where one, two or more seafarers have lost their lives? The approaches detailed in this guidance can help prevent accidents and the associated human, environmental and economic damage and losses.”

Carl Durow, Loss Prevention Manager, London P&I Club, commented: “The ISM code and its proper application is in many cases the yardstick against which the quality of an operation is measured. The Club’s Loss Prevention activities are in part focused on procedural compliance and it is hoped that this joint publication will assist our members to avoid incidents caused by systemic failures.”

Simon Burthem, Chief Operating Officer, TMC Marine, said that efficient management systems are vital in protecting personnel and the environment. “We hope that this guidance will help those on board and in management positions ashore to ensure that the safety management systems in place are effective and efficient. The combined experience of Bureau Veritas, the London P&I Club and our expertise at TMC provides the insight to understand what is required to reduce the risk of systemic failures.”

An electronic copy of the guide can be obtained by clicking here.

The first booklet in the ‘Reducing the Risk’ series, Reducing the Risk of Liquefaction, was published in March 2017, and the second, Reducing the Risk of Propulsion Loss was released in September 2017. To date, more than 7,000 copies have been distributed to owners, managers and operators worldwide.