In SwedishSAN NEWS 1 2010
Drugs testing effective – if done professionally
Testing is one method for checking that the rules of the shipping company are followed. However, you have to be aware of unprofessional testing companies and poor quality measuring instruments, says Olof Beck, professor of pharmacology at Karolinska Institutet in Solna.
Zero tolerance onboard appreciated
Banning alcohol onboard is a good thing. It raises safety levels, discussions are avoided about how much is acceptable to drink, and colleagues with alcohol problems are not constantly subjected to temptation. That is how the crew on the Sirius Olympus view the situation.
The necessary talk
Somebody looks rough when it is time to be on watch. He or she perhaps smells of alcohol sometimes, has a hangover or seems to be drunk. This is the time for you, as an officer or HR manager ashore, to have a talk with the person.
Seafarers in risk group for alcohol problems
Zero tolerance is not a good method for preventing alcohol problems onboard. It is more successful to have an open dialogue about drinking habits.
Leadership is the theme of the year
Being a good leader and a good manager can be a heavy challenge, not least on a ship. As a captain you must live with your decisions around the clock; you must be clear and decisive when required, but at the same time you are part of the social community onboard.
Fredrik Warrebäck is responsible for both work environment and safety
As ship safety officer, Fredrik Warrebäck is in charge of work environment activities onboard. The job is no one-man show, however, and he works in close cooperation with the chief safety officer who represents the different departments.
Better check on sickness absence
Hewitt helps companies to gain a better overview of employees’ presence and absence at their workplace. Affiliated companies regularly report information such as normal working hours, overtime hours, absence due to sickness and leave. In return, they receive a summary of their own reports as well as access to other companies’ information.
Review of the STCW convention coming to a close
The IMO has made great progress with the review of the current edition of the STCW convention (Standards of training, certification and watchkeeping). A few items remain to be solved before the diplomat conference the week before midsummer, when the new version will be officially adopted.
The revision will make it easier and clearer to interpret [...]
MOB boat fell with crew in
During an exercise with a man overboard boat (MOB boat) one of the crewmembers happened to pull the handle for releasing the hook (A in the picture). The boat fell 14 metres down to the surface of the water, hitting the davit on the way down and tipping out three of the crew into the water.
Defective lifebuoys causing problems
The problem with defective lifebuoys which fill with water after the foam in them has collapsed is larger than first envisaged. All the signs indicate that it is the manufacturing method which causes the problem. We are aware of three types and makes in which the foam has collapsed.
Mistaken instrument reading led to grounding
The investigation by the Marine Department indicates that the most probable explanation is that the skipper mistook the rudder angle indicator for the yaw indicator. Both instruments look very similar and indicate values on a display unit.
Drive on Port State Controls
ParisMoU (mainly countries in Europe and Canada) has carried out an inspection drive for three months. Twelve questions related to navigation safety were asked. A total of almost 6000 checks were made, resulting in 81 operating bans relating to the issues in the drive, and 1872 deficiencies registered.
Recommendations stemming from these investigations
The investigation unit of the earlier Marine Surveying Department, now the Marine Department of the Swedish Transport Agency, has carried out 159 investigations since 1997. A total of 313 recommendations have been issued, of which 125 were general and 188 more specific.
Insjö to become Foresea and internationalised
The shared Swedish maritime near-accident and reporting system, Insjö, has changed its name to Foresea. The system is about to be launched abroad and an agreement of cooperation between ICC, which administrates Foresea, and the Finnish Maritime Administration (now the Traffic Safety Agency) has been signed.
Inquiry into the ILO super-convention
The inquiry on the ILO (International labour organisation) super-convention was submitted to the government in December last year and will now be referred for consideration. According to the inquiry, one consequence will be more thorough inspections of foreign ships in which aspects such as salary levels, resting time, medical insurance and employees’ age will be examined.
Eight people killed in pirate attacks
For the third year in a row, the number of pirate attacks has increased and last year there were 406 cases reported to the IMB (International maritime bureau) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Year of the Seafarer
The safety organisation of the United Nations, the IMO (International maritime organization), has decided that the 2010 World Maritime Day will have the theme of the Year of Seafarers.
Meet SAN’s members, part 1
SAN is an organ of co-operation between unions and employers and was established in 1955. The board has a chairman, seven permanent members and two co-opted members, all with specialist knowledge of the work environment at sea. During the coming year we will introduce the members of SAN.
