Safety at Sea

[Ivan Cloherty]

john it may have been we had teachers walking up and down with cains in their hand wishing you would get it wrong so they could swing at you? we could start another thread H+S in nelsons day now that would go on for ever? jp

You'd be okay working on his blind side!

[j.sabourn]

#52... He finished up with one arm as well.Ever thought about how he used his Quadrant. Would of been alright with his medical however if he just went to the BSF. JS

[Jim Dixon]

Safety at sea years ago when I started was just luck, No Safety Meetings. No Lectures, No Health and Safety, no signing Permits to Work, No Safety Posters on ships.
We just did our best to our experience and personal skills. One hand for yourself and one for the ship. We had accidents sure, but it was always said, It was your own fault.
Seafaring was always a dangerous job but you learned to live with it and learn lessons from others mistakes.
Brian

Would you not agree that your post is closely aligned with my post #5. Which is all about Common sense, Awareness and being in the correct environment. That is, amongst mentors (ship mates) who were well experienced and knowledgeable.

[John Arton]

all I ever got from a ship owner after I left ESSO was.................

IF SAFETY COSTS MONEY, FORGET IT.


Brian

Brian
My last outfit (18 yrs with them) were very safety conscious and were one of the first major chemical tanker owners/operators to fully implement a documented Safety Management System. The claim was that it would add 1% to the daily operating cost of each vessel, in reality it was more like 5% but the pay back was not only a reduction in H & M and P & I insurance costs but also in a reduction in lost time incidents when a crew member would be unable to physically carry out his duties but would be able to be put on "light duties" with others taking up the slack, due to the crew member suffering a minor injury, treatable on board.
rgds
J.A.

[Jim Dixon]

Well John, you have introduced ISM which is very interesting and worthy of a thread on its own. However, it's introduction did raise awareness both onboard and ashore as you will recall both were not always heading in the same direction. The Herald of Free Enterprise certainly woke people up. Prior to SMS's we had General Directives which were a step in the right direction but embraced more by our US peers. Wrt the cost saving I would agree that ISM was fought in some corners as an expensive tool and initially a cost was put on it. The net effect was that Underwriters immediately saw its +ve contribution in H & M and P & I costs which in fact reduced the Opex.

[Captain Kong]

Hi John
ESSO was excellent in their Safety programmes, both in courses, continuous training and equipment,
But after leaving Esso, what a difference.
In some companies we had nothing,
I complained to the Office that my ship was about to break in half. The Shore Super came down to the ship. with his gauge. I heard him shout to one of the AB s , "Where is the Master I want to kick ass.?"
I shouted from the wheelhouse window, `I am here, come and kick it`
The midship bulwarks had split down on both sides amidships. and in the void space between the tank and the ships side there were fountains of water, I had two bilge pumps working 24 hours a day to keep the water down., The cracks in the bulk heads down there had wedges covered in rags hammered into the cracks.
I took him down into the void space, and showed him what it was like, He got his gauge, palce it against the frame, "Plenty of steel there, I said , `Its like a lace curtain.`
He went along the bulkhead nothing wrong with it, solid,
I continued to argue with him, No chance.
Then another company ship was coming up the channel to Europort, The Pilot Station told him the port was closed due to Severe weather conditions, Force 12, The Master decided to go to Europort just in case the gales subsided, They turned him back.
He was on his way to the English coast to find a lee, and half way across she broke in half, the Focsle Head came right over and crushed the wheel house which was right aft. killing some men, and then it crashed back into the sea and sank, The after end remained afloat, Eight men lost their lives, A Navy Mine Sweeper was close by and came to his assistance and took the remaining crew off.
Two days later I was told to lay my ship up in Southampton. She was put up for sale and a man from Cork bought her and then sold it to Madeira,
Three months later I read that she had broke in half in the Atlantic and lost with all hands.
So I felt justified.
I left after that and went to Singapore to take a tanker and train up the Chinese Mates and Master in handling Petroleum cargoes, that job lasted 12 months so after that I decided to retire,
Brian.