Question 1

Your vessel has just completed an 80% crew change. Standard individual joining familiarisation has been completed for everyone. Is this sufficient preparation for a collective emergency response?

Accepted Answer

No — an 80% turnover requires additional attention beyond standard joining familiarisation, including enhanced team-based emergency verification and drills run promptly, since collective readiness isn't the same as each person individually knowing their own duties AM Pride's investigation found that limited crew familiarisation, following an 80% crew change, was a significant contributing factor — not because individual checklists weren't completed, but because collective, practiced readiness as a team hadn't been established. A fire and abandon-ship drill was run roughly 40 hours after departure rather than within 24 hours, as the Company's own SMS required for this scale of turnover.

Question 2

Under the ISM Code and as reinforced in Gard's guidance to Members, the Master's overriding authority to make decisions for the safety of the ship and protection of the environment can be overruled by a commercial instruction from the company, such as a charterer's order to sail on schedule.

Accepted Answer

False False. Gard's guidance to Members consistently stresses that the ISM Code (element 5) gives the Master overriding authority and responsibility for safety and pollution prevention decisions — and that companies must ensure this authority is not undermined by commercial pressure. A charterer's or owner's commercial instruction never overrides the Master's safety judgement; Masters who feel pressured are advised to record their decision and reasoning and report it to the company and, where relevant, to their P&I correspondent.

Question 3

A crew member identifies that a piece of safety equipment does not match what is listed on the safety equipment plan. What is the correct way to handle this under the SMS?

Accepted Answer

Raise it as a non-conformity/observation through the SMS reporting process so it is recorded, investigated, corrected, and — if it reflects a wider issue — used to improve procedures or the safety equipment plan itself The ISM Code requires a system for reporting non-conformities, accidents and hazardous occurrences so they can be analysed and corrective/preventive action taken — quietly fixing an issue without recording it loses this opportunity for systemic improvement.