DNV aims to tackle rise in maritime-related risks

With collisions, groundings and contact accidents now accounting for 60 per cent of the most costly shipping accidents, DNV continues to push its Crew Resource Management (CRM) training as effective utilisation of onboard crew becomes ever more critical.

In addition to the increasing frequency of navigational accidents, the cost of each repair caused by accidents is rising. Bjorn Tore Markussen, Director of DNV Maritime Solutions, says more needs to be done to improve safety awareness on board. With more lines switching to a cost-cutting culture, Markussen is worried about the impact it will have on safety performance:

"This will be even more challenging when we now see more shipping companies struggling to survive the financial crisis. We know from research that cost-cutting exercises without proper risk management and consequence analysis towards safe and secure operations might result in companies saving dimes while loosing bucks."

Dr Torkel Soma, principal consultant and head of DNV Maritime Solutions' Safety Excellence services, says reliable technology and compliance with manuals do not provide assurance that errors will not occur.

"Collisions, groundings and contact accidents almost always involve human acts, and a common misunderstanding is that the governing cause behind these behavioural errors is lack of professional competence."

In his opinion, more navigational training alone does not keep the officers more awake. "The fact is that it has never been easier to navigate ships safely. But to efficiently benefit from these navigational aids, the circumstances around the onboard activities must be co-ordinated through good onboard leadership and teamwork. This is an organisational and not an individual improvement area."

DNV's CRM programme focuses on practical behaviour-oriented training that improves efficiency and quality of onboard teamwork, incorporating key areas of leadership.

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