CEO’s Safety
Message
To: All Ship Masters,
By now, I trust that all of you
are familiar with the incident of Wu Yi San, which took place at Yeosu on 31
Jan 2014. It was not a good way to start the New Year with an incident of such
unprecedented magnitude in Ocean Tankers’ history.
With two pilots, two Ocean
Tankers’ masters on the bridge and six tug boats assisting, Wu Yi San collided
with the jetty owned by GS Caltex at Yeosu. The incident caused more than 700
tons of oil to spill from the Terminal into the sea. In addition to the
financial loss, the incident had a significant impact on the good reputation we
built over the years.
Investigation of the incident
revealed that Wu Yi San, under the pilot’s instruction, had approached the
jetty at an excessive speed. Video record footage showed that the fully loaded
VLCC was still moving at 7 knots with only 8 cables away from the jetty. The
ship master, succumbing to cultural pressure, had failed to exercise his
judgment to correct the pilot’s reckless action.
The incident could have been
prevented if the pilot’s negligence had been corrected on a timely basis. I
would like to reiterate that our masters are given the responsibility and
overriding authority to make decisions concerning safety of life, vessel and
environment protection. Our masters must not be constrained by external
pressure when making such decisions. Our masters would have the full support
from the management in exercising overriding authority pertaining to safety of
life, vessel and environment protection.
This is an expensive lesson
learned the hard way. I am extremely disturbed by the findings of the
investigation. Our master did not put Health, Safety and Environment Protection
as top priority. He allowed his culture and upbringing to override his good
judgment, which was totally wrong and unacceptable. This contradicted with our
Health, Safety and Environment Policy, which is “ZERO SPILLS AND NO DAMAGE TO
THE ENVIRONMENT.”
I expect everyone in Ocean
Tankers to wholeheartedly embrace a safety culture, which emphasizes full
commitment to take responsibility of Health, Safety and the Environment in our
day-to-day operations.
We have been striving for ZERO
INCIDENT AND INCIDENT FREE OPERATION. The Management will not tolerate another navigational
incident.
ZERO INCIDENT AND INCIDENT FREE
OPERATION are achievable if everyone commits strongly to Health, Safety and
Environment Protection. It is our assurance to clients who use our vessels to
carry their products and allow our vessels to call at their facilities.
I want you to discuss this
incident in detail with your crew members, especially the officers responsible
for the safe navigation of the vessel, and relook into Safety Management System
to identify potential breaches or non-conformities which may lead to such an
incident if not corrected. The management will regularly review safety polices
to ensure ongoing suitability. Everyone onboard is expected to implement and
adhere to safe work practices at all times.
The management is committed to
provide all necessary support and resources to ensure that your vessel is
maintained sound technically, and that you and your crew are well trained to
perform your respective duties. In return, I expect you and your crew to perform
your duties professionally; to optimize the resources provided, maintain the
sound operation of vessel and attain incident free operations at all times.
I encourage you to report any
unsafe behaviour or conditions, which could place life, vessel and the
environment at risk. Likewise, I want you to encourage your crew members,
regardless of their capacity, to be vigilant and report any unsafe behavior or
conditions, which could undermine the safety of crew, vessel and the
environment.
I want you and your crew to take
personal ownership of safety. Every team member can be a leader, particularly
when safety is concerned.
To reiterate, all crew members
onboard, regardless of rank, capacity and seniority, are encouraged to raise NC
or Unsafe Behaviour and Condition Observation report. On this note, I expect
you to maintain open communication and ensure that your crew members are
competent and confident in identifying, correcting and reporting any breach of
safety rules and regulations.
Together, we are committed to developing
and defining a strong company standard and culture embracing Health, Safety and
Environment Protection at all times.
Mr Evan Lim
CEO Ocean Tankers Pte Ltd
24 June 2014
