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Sunday, January 23, 2011

Is Maritime Safety Observed by Shipping Firms All the Time?

By Kalyan Kumar

Shipping companies and organizations worldwide are responsible for following maritime safety standards at all times. They are bound by an international maritime law which requires them to ensure the safety of vessel crew and passengers on land and sea.

Seafarers have been trained in school about the proper safety measures to take during emergency situations. And their training does end after graduating because before they are hired for a job on a vessel, they are required to undergo further schooling. Additionally, when they get employed and work on board, they continue to have regular drills all for safety purposes.

The overall governing body when it comes to worldwide shipping is the International Maritime Organization or IMO. Since its establishment in 1959, the organization has adopted global safety standards for vessels and seafarers. Its Maritime Safety Committee is the one that takes charge of safety-related issues.
Each country has a maritime agency that looks into all aspects of shipping operations within their jurisdiction and checks vessels entering and leaving their territorial waters. When accidents happen, this same agency has a committee or special board that investigates the causes and comes up with disciplinary actions and solutions.

In the European Union, the Parliament and its Council reached an agreement in March to implement more safety measures to prevent maritime accidents and accountability of shipping operators. This will pave the way for an improved control system of checking vessels that pose a risk, more stringent standards, the creation of a certification body and implementation of financial penalties.

In the past and recent years, there have been several accidents at sea involving passenger and non-passenger ships in the different parts of the world. These include fires, collisions, sinking of ships and those caused by mechanical failure as well as natural disasters such as storms and bad weather. As these are accidents, it's also inevitable that some people will get injured or killed in worse cases.

While maritime accidents involving big vessels may be unexpected at times, some can be attributed to negligence due to inexperienced crew. There have been reports that some ships employ crew members not properly trained for the job resulting in underperformance on board.

In the case of cruise ships, it's the passengers who become victims of negligent conduct on the part of crew members. Due to unforeseen circumstances, sometimes their vacation turns into a nightmare that may haunt them for a long time. But there are the maritime lawyers who can always help them should they wish to file a lawsuit and claim.

Accidents that happen at sea should not be ignored and when personal injuries are involved, taking legal action may be the right step. This is not only to seek compensation for the injury suffered by the victim but also to teach ship operators a lesson. Sometimes, shipping companies are so confident about their operations that it's only when accidents occur that they take the necessary steps to improve their systems.
Safety of life at sea is and should always be a priority for shipping firms. This matter should be constantly reviewed to prevent further unfortunate incidents.
For information on maritime lawyers, visit Gallagher Law Firm, Louisiana lawyers and attorneys who specialize in personal injury, car and truck accidents, divorce, maritime law and more.

1 comment:

  1. It is definitely a must that they do. I think and I believe that they always enforce safety in maritime even if there are a lot of news out there about sinking ships and ships in trouble, it's not really a matter of the board's mistake but the operator's. Simple trainings such as WHMIS online course can definitely make a huge different in the operations of those ships.

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