Reporting Culture - A Prerequisite for Safety in Shipping

Abstract

As the human factor is considered a leading cause of maritime accidents, reducing its effect and making shipping safer, more sustainable and reliable concept is necessary. Therefore, IMO introduced the ISM Code as a tool for creating and developing a safety culture in shipping. However, barriers prevent the development of an effective safety culture on ships. One of the safety culture elements is reporting culture, where seafarers are expected to freely and unbiasedly report observed accidents and near-misses. Reporting such undesired events should enable organisational learning through investigation, analysis, and dissemination of complete reports. In addition, it needs to be mentioned that reporting and, in the end, learning from near-miss reports is more desirable than learning from accidents since no harm was done. This paper gives a brief overview of safety culture in shipping, emphasising reporting culture, especially near-misses. Developing a just culture onboard a ship is a pivotal factor in implementing and developing an effective safety culture. Shipboard leadership and company management should create an adequate climate that enables reporting and thus improves safety in shipping.