Collaboration to address human element issues in maritime safety

2009-08-12

SINGAPORE: The Malaysian Maritime Academy (ALAM) and Det Norske Veritas (DNV) have agreed to jointly address human element issues in maritime safety.

“It is the people who make the difference between safety and danger in shipping,” said Helge Kjeoy, DNV’s regional manager in the Middle East and South East Asia. “Recognising this issue, we will work together with ALAM and MISC Berhad to further enhance maritime education and training.”

ALAM trains the vast majority of MISC sea staff. MISC is a subsidiary of the Malaysian oil and gas company PETRONAS and the world’s largest single owner/operator of LNG tankers. The initiative will be implemented via training training tools for ship officers and shore-based managers at ALAM using the DNV Navigator software and web-based Superindent Manual.

ALAM’s chief executive officer Mr M. Adthisaya Ganesen commented: “The ultimate objective for ALAM and DNV is to take this initiative forward and work towards continual improvement in maritime training and operations for safer ships and cleaner oceans.”

Mr M. Adthisaya Ganesen believes the use of these state-of-the-art tools will “greatly improve the ‘situational awareness’ of the officers and enhance operational safety and efficiency of today’s sophisticated ships that travelled in some of the most congested maritime highways.”

Human errors have been recognized by leading insitutions as the key factor in maritime incidents. The Norwegian Maritime Directorate reported that 66% of all ship groundings were due to human error and the United States Coast Guard indicated that over 75% of all ship accidents were also due to human error.

DNV Navigator is an award winning software used on board more than 1,700 ships worldwide. Updated weekly, it provides ship masters with crucial port and ship reporting information at the right time during the navigation process, covering 2,500 ports of call in 180 countries with 900 national and international forms for port clearance.

As a maritime information tool, DNV Navigator can be downloaded on to ALAM’s Full-Mission Navigation and Shiphandling Simulator (FMSS) for enhanced training of ships’ navigating officers in passage planning, arrival/departure requirements and other navigating bridge features such as the modern Electronic Chart Display & Information System (ECDIS).

The Superintendent Manual has been developed by DNV in conjunction with the Norwegian Shipowners Association (NSA) and leverages DNV’s experience in managing maritime risk for over 145 years and with over 5,600 ships. The manual covers key areas such as newbuilding, drydocking and procedures, hull and structure, equipment and systems, machinery systems and components, Rules and Regulations, and shipmanagement. Shipowners worldwide have been using this web-based manual for their ship superindentents.

The cooperation between DNV and ALAM first started in July 2005 when DNV conducted a series of verifications under the aegis of DNV SeaSkill, which lead to the award of a DNV MET Certificate.

DNV