The importance of reporting all the occurred near misses on board: The seafarers’ perception

Abstract

Improvement of maritime safety has previously been based on a reactive regulatory approach, where regulatory improvements have been imposed to prevent recurrence of a specific type of accidental event or accidental scenario, after such an accidental event has happened. The ISM Code requires that hazardous situations are to be reported to the company, investigated and analyzed in order to prevent future happenings. Near‐miss reporting is positively evaluated in this respect, because, near‐misses are represented experiences and mistakes that should be shared to learn from in order to prevent the occurrence of accidents. The expression “that was too close” on ships’ bridges between the master and the officers is rarely transferred to a near miss report form, preserving the probability of reoccurrence. Near misses occurred and near misses reported might present a big difference in number. Officers easily forget the near miss situation when the safety of the ship is restored.