THE inaugural Maritime Safety Week which is being launched by the UK Government today has been welcomed by a leading maritime health and safety expert.
Bruce Craig, a partner at law firm Pinsent Masons in Aberdeen, said any activity which raises awareness and promotes higher maritime safety standards in UK waters is a positive step forward.
Tory Minister Nusrat Ghani MP is to launched the first Maritime Safety Week later today. Marine safety and the regulation of maritime safety rules is a reserved matter for the Westminster Government.
Ghani said that since taking over the Department of Transport role she had been surprised by the sheer size and scope of the maritime sector.
The Minister said: “Safety is absolutely critical to underpinning success at every level and I want to raise awareness and highlight the excellent work which is already being done in this space by a diverse range of organisations and individuals. Maritime Safety Week has been created to do that and provide a focal point to recognise contributions and celebrate success.
“Safety isn’t just a concern for professional mariners who undertake their roles in what are often difficult and dangerous circumstances. All users of the maritime environment, from recreational mariners to casual beach goers, need to understand the risks.”
Bruce Craig, who was part of the investigations team following the 2007 Bourbon Dolphin anchor-handling disaster in which eight lives were lost off the coast of Shetland, said: “Scotland is unfortunately no stranger to maritime tragedy and it is poignant that Marine Safety Week follows immediately after the 30th anniversary of the Piper Alpha tragedy in which 167 men died.
“In recent years we have endured numerous fishing vessel disasters including Sapphire in 1997, Aquila in 2009 and Louisa in 2016, in addition to environmental damage caused by incidents such as the Braer oil tanker spill off Shetland in 1993. Anything which raises awareness of maritime safety is to be welcomed and I hope this will become an annual event.” Craig pointed to new safety measures in recent years which highlight progress made, including improvements in vessel stability, the requirement for double hulls on oil tankers, safety rails on the decks of offshore support vessels to keep crew safe from potentially moving equipment, and improvements in dynamic positioning and radar.
He added: “There is still a long way to go with safety always being a work-in-progress, and modern innovations create different hazards. For example, the move over the next decades to autonomous vessels where there will be far fewer crew on board, and the possibility over time of some vessels being operated entirely crewless, presents new challenges.
“It is still too early to say what effect, if any, Brexit will have on maritime safety regulation. The UK is seen as the gold standard in workplace health and safety including at sea. Hopefully this will continue, although over time it is almost inevitable that a divergence will appear between safety regulation in the UK and regulation in the EU.”
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