Marine industry 'in climate of fear'

The chief inspector raises a wide range of concerns

Marine accident investigators have attacked the government for delaying a confidential accident reporting system for mariners concerned about safety standards at sea.

The chief inspector of marine accidents, Rear Admiral John Lang, warns the industry is working amid a "climate of fear" which the government has failed to tackle.

He says a "blame culture" is rife in the industry with many seafarers too frightened to speak out about poor safety, for fear of losing their jobs.

Rear Admiral Lang made the comments in a foreword to his annual report on the state of the shipping industry, published on Thursday.

Fatigue

It was four years ago that the Marine Accidents Investigation Branch (MAIB) recommended the government should set up a confidential reporting system for sea workers.

There are... far too many substandard vessels continuing to trade

Rear Admiral John Lang

The chief inspector, who is retiring in July, says the Department for Transport has been "so slow" to act.

The department says it has now given the go-ahead to develop a confidential reporting system, which should be established within the next year.

It says this will work alongside existing systems for the aviation and rail industries.

In his foreword, Rear Admiral Lang points to the under-manning of ships, fatigue among watch-keepers and poor safety standards as the key worries.

Training

He says there are too many substandard ships continuing to trade, and that too many countries are failing to enforce international regulations.

Officers were "often too tired to conduct themselves effectively", he adds.

He also speaks of his concern at the "high number of (fishing) vessels which founder each year".

"There is some evidence to show that some of the losses might have been prevented had those on board known more about how to deal with the situations they faced."

Damage control training and more rigorously applied firefighting exercises on vessels would help, he says.

Rear Admiral Lang says few of the 162 member states of the International Maritime Organisation carried out thorough investigations into accidents and even less had had totally independent accident investigation bodies.

"A number will carry out very basic inquiries into the causes, but are very reluctant to make their reports publicly available.

"As a result, few people learn from such accidents and little is done to prevent the same thing happening again."