A Tale of Two Ships

The objective of this article is to investigate the strengths, weaknesses, and similarities of the safety management systems (SMS). The article discusses two unique maritime incidents in 2012 and their follow-on investigations gives unique insight into this process. The year began with an allision, as a motor vessel ran into a highway bridge on a lake in Kentucky, causing a 300-foot bridge span to drop onto the vessel and into the Tennessee River. At the conclusion of 2012, another vessel in the Gulf of Alaska struggled to control a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU), which eventually grounded. Both vessels were conducting unique operations in unique environments. A vessel’s safety management system is a critical safety component of vessel operations and it needs to understandable and easy to follow. To ensure the safety of people, the environment, and property, periodic reviews are necessary, as are attention to the lessons learned from previous operations and the changing risks associated with vessel operations.

• Record URL:
  • https://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/archive/2016/Vol73_No1_Spring2016.pdf
• 
• Authors:
  • Fawcett, Keith
• Publication Date: 2016

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Photos;
• Pagination: pp 47-51
• Serial:
  • Coast Guard Journal of Safety & Security at Sea, Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council
  • Volume: 73
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: U.S. Coast Guard
  • Serial URL: http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Incident management; Maritime safety; Offshore drilling platforms; Safety management; Ship groundings; Vessel operations; Water transportation crashes
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01608115
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 29 2016 11:08AM