Safety data denotes industry crisis as crew welfare concerns mount

InterManager secretary general Captain Kuba Szymanski presented troubling data showing senior officers accounting for 68% of enclosed space fatalities. "It’s like you seeing your chief executives dying," Capt Szymanski told an industry audience which included a number of chief executives.

Capt Szymanski revealed that following an IMO regulation introduced in 2011 aimed at preventing enclosed space accidents, fatality numbers actually increased. "A single regulation actually started killing more people," he said.

Speaking in support, RightShip head of operations Taner Umac asked the audience, "Has anyone been in a ballast tank before? Has anyone worn a breathing apparatus set? How practical it is to rescue a 170-cm, 70-kg seafarer from a ballast tank while you’re wearing a breathing apparatus set? Impossible. We need to fundamentally rethink ship design and safety procedures rather than merely adding more regulations."

Recent geopolitical tensions have added new dimensions to crew welfare concerns. Philippine Transmarine Carriers’ Karen Avelino described traumatic incidents involving crew detention on vessels captured by Iranian forces. "There were 17 in one vessel and another one with more than 20 seafarers, mixed nationalities, and while the others were released, those who were left behind were mostly Filipinos," she reported.

These incidents, while traumatic, led to positive developments in crew protection. "The President of the Philippines signed the Magna Carta for seafarers," Ms Avelino explained. "It’s really more for the protection of the seafarers to show the world how we value our crew, how we value the Filipino seafarers working in international vessels or even domestic vessels."