In 2002, the Greek-owned and Bahamas-operated tanker ‘Prestige’ encountered heavy weather during a routine voyage and eventually sank off the coast of Spain, causing the worst environmental disaster in the country and one of the greatest oil spills in Europe.

The previous article in our “Bridge Procedures” series focused on the necessary steps during the ECDIS setup. Since ECDIS is a complex system, at this point, it is critical to clarify what should be done in the case of a failure.

We see an increase in the number of accidents caused by main engine failure. It may be costly to the operator due to delays at the vessel’s planned route, machinery damage or even if assistance is needed from towing companies but also be the reason of a collision!

In June 2018, the 5th edition of the piracy-specific Best Management Practice (BMP5) was published compiling a useful and comprehensive guidance which introduces effective measures for the protection of crew, vessels and cargo while transiting  the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The new edition supersedes BMP4.

The industry has mostly shed its focus on navigational safety or pollution prevention; however, the issues related to engine rooms and installations should not be disregarded considering that many accidents have been reported due to engine failures, loss of power or other engineering related causes.

The bunkering of ships, which formerly was a relatively low skill and low value activity, has deployed into a highly focused shipboard operation, due to the continuously rising oil price in conjunction with the imperative need for high marine environmental protection.

The fourth edition has been extensively updated and addresses: Lessons learned from incidents, most notably from failures of HMSF mooring lines; Human centred mooring designs and human factors in mooring operations; New and in-development regulations and guidance from the IMO on the safety of mooring; Alternative mooring technologies and how they can be incorporated safely into the design of mooring systems both for ships and terminals.

The sinking of the Amoco Cadiz in 1978 came to claim again the title of the world’s worst oil spill, putting another dark spot in the environmental record of shipping.

It has been over 34 years since the Doña Paz ferry collided with a tanker, burnt and sank in Philippines waters five days before Christmas, adding the darkest page in the country’s maritime history.

The Coronavirus outbreak has set the shipping industry into a frenzy, with major shipping stakeholders issuing guidance and recommendations, ports halting operations until further notice and a feeling of uncertainty on how this emergency will be dealt with.