‘Navigating the future: Safety first!‘
As the industry transitions to new decarbonisation fuels and technologies, we cannot overlook the importance of seafarer safety. As Esa Henttinen highlights, digital tools, like electronic logbooks and automated checklists, can provide seafarers with the necessary safeguards to minimise the risk of accidents and incidents. Digitalisation is helping streamline workflows, enhance data transparency and is institutionalising new skills and knowledge to adopt decarbonisation technologies.
Viewers can read here below the full comment below by Esa Henttinen, Executive Vice President for Safety Solutions at NAPA.:
“As the industry sails into its multi-fuel and multi-technology era, this International World Maritime Day reminds us that the success of the energy transition depends on putting maritime safety first.
With the wave of innovation across every parameter, from handling new alternative fuels to integrating new propulsion technologies, seafarers are at the coalface of unprecedented change in their working environments. A recent survey by the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network affirmed that the rapid changes caused by the decarbonisation transition are already impacting seafarer fatigue and stress, with more than half the respondents also reporting an increase in their workload, and a third fearing potential criminalisation for failing complex reporting requirements.
This is where digital tools, like electronic logbooks and automated checklists, can provide seafarers with the necessary safeguards. New fuels, for example, will require specific procedures for their safe handling, bunkering and changeovers. Having digital checklists to guide crews will, therefore, be a key learning tool to ensure nothing is overlooked when completing new tasks and procedures. This isn’t just a ‘nice-to-have’ but rather a prerequisite to minimise the risk of accidents and incidents.
Despite improvements in the shipping industry’s safety record, 55% of accidents still occur during planned work, often in critical areas like holds and oil tanks. Here, the digitalisation of paper-based processes presents a step-change in maritime safety. Digitalising the permit-to-work process enhances safety by providing step-by-step guidance to seafarers and offering real-time progress visibility to both ship and shore teams, reducing the risk of error and oversight.
This new area of digitalisation is enhancing data transparency, time efficiency and, importantly, institutionalising the new skills and knowledge needed to adopt decarbonisation technologies. By outlining the steps required for critical processes, and providing a track record of all actions taken, accessible in one place, digital checklists ensure all protocols are followed and act as an invaluable repository of knowledge. This not only reinforces theoretical training but also supports onboard familiarisation, which is particularly valuable as new crew members join sectors like cruise on their first contract post-pandemic.
Digitalisation can and should be expanded to more aspects of seafarers’ work to ensure crews have the necessary training and confidence to handle a new generation of vessels and requirements. They can play a critical role in taking some of the mental and administrative load from teams, helping contribute to a safer industry for everyone.
If decarbonisation innovation will shape the future of shipping, digitalisation will be the foundation on which we ensure those technologies are being used safely and to their full potential.”
