The Risk Doesn't End When the Gangway Goes Down

A Different Category of Risk

Every onboard drill trains a crew for the risks that happen on the vessel. Shore leave sits outside that entire system. The American Club's loss prevention guidance on seafarer safety ashore addresses exactly that gap: the period when a crew member is no longer inside the vessel's safety management system, in an unfamiliar port, often after a long stretch at sea.

Where the Real Risk Sits

The pattern behind most shore leave incidents isn't exotic - road traffic accidents in countries with unfamiliar driving conventions, alcohol-related incidents compounded by fatigue after a long voyage, disorientation in an unfamiliar city late at night, and the basic risk of missing ship departure because a return route took longer than expected. None of these require anything going dramatically wrong. They require ordinary caution to lapse in an environment where a crew member has less local knowledge and less margin for error than they would have at home.

What Reduces the Risk

• Agree a return time with a clear margin before your vessel's actual departure, not the earliest plausible one
• Carry your ship's contact details and the local agent's number, not just a phone with an assumption it will always have signal or charge
• Use a buddy system for shore leave rather than going ashore alone, particularly in an unfamiliar port at night
• Know the local road safety basics - which side traffic drives on, whether pedestrian crossings are respected - before navigating them for the first time
• Moderate alcohol consumption with the return journey and next watch in mind, not just the evening ashore

What This Means for Every Rank

• Masters and DPAs should treat shore leave briefings as a genuine safety task, not a formality before granting leave
• Every crew member benefits from a few minutes' orientation on port-specific risks before their first time ashore in an unfamiliar location

Related Reading

• The Danger Is in the Ordinary - the same principle applies ashore as it does on deck