SMS language neutrality has become one of those phrases that appears in TMSA discussions and vetting preparation meetings as a marker of proactive safety culture. In most fleets I audit, however, the SMS was written by one cultural-linguistic group and…
When ship managers ask me what a SIRE 2.0 compliant SMS looks like, the honest answer is that the question itself reveals the problem. Most companies are still treating the SMS as a document to be inspected rather than a…
Every company I speak with eventually arrives at the same conclusion: the SMS has grown too large, too layered, and too difficult for the people who are supposed to use it. The decision to rationalise it is, by that point,…
Every time a ship is nominated for a cargo, a question is being asked in a room the ship manager is not in: what is the probability that this vessel creates a problem for us? Not a theoretical question. A…
When operators complete a rationalisation exercise and turn to the question of ISM SMS structure, the conversation almost always focuses on the same debate: which organisational model should the system follow? Department-based, TMSA-element, or digital with search? These are legitimate…
When an SMS has grown to a point where it no longer feels manageable, the instinct is to open it and start cutting. I understand that instinct. After years of working with operators on ISM SMS review, I have seen…
When I sit down with an operator to review their ISM SMS requirements, the picture is almost always the same. The document is technically compliant. It references the right regulations, addresses the right hazards, and has been updated after every…
Most VDR requests I receive cover the port arrival. A smaller number include departure. Occasionally, the dataset contains anchor watch VDR data — not because it was specifically requested, but because the arrival or departure sequence encompassed an anchor leg.…
When I review a VDR audit for a port approach, one of the first overlays I look at is position at time of pilot boarding. Not because I expect to find a problem every time, but because the position tells…
When I open a VDR review, the radar screenshots are among the first things I examine. Not to confirm that the radar was switched on — that is rarely the issue — but to understand how it was being used.…
VDR incident investigation is not a theoretical risk. Every VDR records continuously, and every recorded passage is, in principle, available for formal review. The question that rarely gets asked before something goes wrong is: if an investigator pulled that data…
The Master Pilot Exchange has a box for tug bollard pull. In most cases the comparison gets made — if the tug bollard pull exceeds what the ship’s fittings can carry, the instruction goes to the tug master: be easy,…