Page 44: of Marine News Magazine (February 2017)

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FIRE & SAFETY

Harnessing Best Harnessing Best

Practices to Deliver a Practices to Deliver a

Successful Casualty Successful Casualty

Investigation Investigation

The ? nal success of any ? re or explosion investigation The ? nal success of any ? re or explosion investigation is dependent on the management of the incident. is dependent on the management of the incident.

By David MyersBy David Myers ire and explosion incidents on board vessels have al- ways presented challenging situations for the marine

F industry. However, with the industry as whole facing ever-increasing ? nancial pressures, many of those who suffer from a ? re or explosion are seeking out cost saving measures during investigations. As a result, local surveyors or inexpe- rienced investigators are sometimes appointed in place of a more quali? ed and experienced expert. Often, these local surveyors will lack the detailed knowledge and/or resources necessary to conduct the investigation to a suitably high stan- dard. This means that short-term savings often deliver poor value for money in the long term and offer a false economy.

If an investigation is not carried out with best practice, all interested parties risk serious ? nancial and legal disad- vantage. Among those at risk are vessel owners and opera- tors, managers, charterers, sub charterers as well as those whose cargo was being transported. Along the way, insur- ers for all the above parties – P&I, H&M or cargo under- writers – are also stakeholders at risk.

A Best Practice Approach

While some incidents are small and manageable, other ? res and explosions occur extremely rapidly during the same chaotic event. On these occasions, ? res can cause ex- plosions and explosions can cause ? res. When an incident occurs on a vessel at sea or in a port, the primary concern

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