Surveys, Casualty Reporting & Health and Safety

A broken wrist will almost certainly stop him doing his full range of work for more than 72 hours — that is a serious injury under the 2026 Regulations, and a serious injury is a marine casualty. The Master and the owner must notify the MAIB as soon as possible, by the quickest means available — not held back for an internal investigation. In practice that is a phone call to the MAIB's 24-hour line. The entry must also be made in the Official Log Book — record the nature of injury, circumstances, treatment given (first aid on board or medical evacuation), and outcome. The injury must be recorded in the vessel's accident and near-miss log under the SMS. If there is any suspicion of equipment failure (e.g. the ladder was defective), preserve the evidence and do not repair the equipment until it has been inspected — report this fact to the Master and DPA. If the crew member requires medical evacuation I would contact MRCC and arrange appropriate assistance. Under the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels H&S Regulations, a risk assessment for work on ladders and working at height may need to be reviewed and updated.

An improvement notice means the PSC officer has found a contravention of health and safety regulations — in this case, the defective davit. The notice specifies the exact contravention, the remedy required, and a time limit for compliance. The vessel may continue operations — the improvement notice does not detain the vessel — but I must carry out the required remedy within the specified time limit. My immediate action: inform the Master, who notifies the DPA. The DPA will coordinate with the classification society or flag state to arrange the necessary survey or repair. The engineer and technical superintendent will be informed. The davit should be taken out of service immediately — while we can continue operating, we must not use the defective equipment. Once the remedy is completed, the classification society or an approved surveyor must inspect and certify the davit, and the inspector who issued the notice must be satisfied. Failure to comply with an improvement notice within the time limit is a criminal offence. Log all actions and correspondence in the vessel's SMS records.

A risk assessment is a systematic process of identifying hazards, evaluating the risk they present, and implementing controls to reduce that risk to an acceptable level. Under the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels Health and Safety Regulations 1997, the employer must carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments for all work activities on board. As OOW, I am responsible for ensuring the assessments that apply to my area of work are being followed and that crew are briefed on the hazards and controls. On a superyacht, risk assessments are required for — among others — working at height (mast work, davits), enclosed space entry (bilges, tanks, void spaces), hot work (welding, cutting), anchor and mooring operations, tender and watersports operations, and crane and lifting operations. Each of these requires a Permit to Work before the task starts. A risk assessment is not a one-off document — it must be reviewed when the task changes, when equipment changes, when crew change, or after any incident. The SMS specifies which tasks require a formal PTW and risk assessment and the OOW is responsible for enforcing this on deck.