World Maritime Day rightly places safety at the core of our industry’s future - what proactive steps are needed next?

We welcome today’s International Maritime Organization 's World Maritime Day theme, which places safety at the core of discussions over our industry’s future. Many of us on the Intent Communications team, and many of our clients, are passionate about raising safety standards in our industry. As we adopt new fuels and technologies, we must ensure that our seafaring workforce are equipped with the knowledge, training and tools they need to do their jobs safely. Collaborating, sharing of data and creating a blame free culture will be essential.?

And, as we navigate towards a decarbonised future there will inevitably be teething problems with new fuels and propulsion technologies. As Adam Parnell , Director (Maritime) at CHIRP writes, in this learning phase safety incidents could be high. Industry must get better, and quickly, at sharing safety incident data, especially when it comes to the use of new, green fuels. If not, we will be doomed to repeat the same mistakes within company silos and risk a major incident leading to set backs in wider adoption of a fuel if it has caused environmental damage or loss of life.? Read more here: https://bit.ly/4gyDmdH

Data's role in safety

As we see in data from years of Inmarsat The Future of Maritime Safety reports, while total losses may be on a steady downward trajectory, incident alerts remain stubbornly consistent. Peter Broadhurst , Senior VP, Safety and Regulatory, at Inmarsat Maritime - a Viasat Company, accurately stresses that while not a panacea, data, when validated and used thoughtfully, can empower decision makers. He writes that this requires working together and sharing anonymised data “across regulators, shipowners and operators, insurers, seafarer unions and others to benchmark performance and take proactive steps to improve safety”.? It’s been great to see the formation of SEA-CARE Working Group out of this project, where key players from the industry are now working together to find ways to collaborate and share data to enact this vision. Read Inmarsat’s Future of Maritime Safety 2024 report here: https://bit.ly/4gHDiYS

Crew wellbeing

Physical and psychological safety for crew is intrinsically linked to improved safety. As Heidi Heseltine, Founder of the Diversity Study Group, has pointed out, “It’s heartening to see numerous responsible ship operators institute DEIB programmes across their vessels to improve the safety and wellbeing of their personnel. But limited data on current levels of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging onboard ships makes it difficult to track successes and assess real outcomes or value to businesses.” DSG’s seafarer and shore-based data-gathering and benchmarking initiatives track crew demographics and year-on-year trends in crew safety and wellbeing to identify key impact points and utilise their DEI expertise to recommend sustainable solutions that will facilitate improved workplace culture and seafarer welfare. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3ZD5ZAa

Talent retention and DEI

Maritime’s goals of embedding greater resilience and sustainability across the supply chain necessitate attracting and retaining a diverse and talented workforce to face the challenges ahead. Part of this process rests on improving gender parity — ensuring our industry attracts the right talent and skills — and requires key actions to reduce hurdles to retention. As Sandra Welch , CEO of the Seafarers Hospital Society (SHS), has noted, “Although maritime stakeholders often discuss the visible challenges women in our workforce may face — such as harassment (including sexual harassment), bullying, and discrimination in terms of pay, training and opportunities — the more subtle hurdles of a lack of access to menstrual hygiene products and the significant impact on a female seafarer’s ability to perform her duties tends to be left unremarked.” This can take a toll on mental and physical health for women seafarers, leading SHS to launch a pilot project to provide women working at sea with free feminine hygiene products at two UK-based ports. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4gIV7aj

Modern approach to training

Training must be fit for purpose too. While the STCW review rolls on, training providers are racing to ensure there will be practical solutions as new fuels begin to be introduced in the decades ahead. For the likes of digital training providers like MarinePALS , the message is clear: training must be adapted to suit modern learning styles, with today’s largely millennial and Gen-Z crews used to absorbing information online and in short, easy to absorb formats. Gamification, VR and bite- sized learning should form part of effective teaching methods, argues Capt. Pradeep Chawla , CEO, MarinePALS. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3N4IJU8

Utilising technology?

We as an industry should start adopting the low-hanging fruit of currently available technologies that can improve safety on board, as well as deliver a whole host of other benefits. IoT and telematics technologies, for example, designed to provide better visibility of cargo movements and quality can have tangible benefits for crew safety too. From earlier detection of possible fires to help earlier interventions to minimising occupational hazards for crew on deck, having to make regular checks of reefer containers. Read more on this from Christian Allred , Executive Vice President, ORBCOMM here:?https://bit.ly/4eiDZ9I

Knowledge sharing

Global collaboration is key to knowledge sharing, improved safety during operations, and further support for a just transition. MarineMasters note that safety is not merely a key factor in the complex and high-stakes environments of maritime, offshore and renewables, but at the heart of a more sustainable future. Knowledge sharing and mutual learning with regional suppliers and international networks helps raise the bar for safety practices across the globe and ushers in a safer future across the board.?

This collaboration strengthens the industry as a whole, ensuring that the next generation of maritime operations is not only more efficient but also significantly safer.?

Industry leaders should take a renewed and proactive approach to safety to ensure we can weather the changes ahead. To prepare for a more digital, increasingly automated and greener future will require a holistic approach to safety, covering wellbeing, training, technology standards and regulations, and new ways to collaborate and share knowledge and data. Let’s all put safety first.

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