Seriously fed up with this ship

[Unregistered]

So this is my final trip. I am on a container ship, but the standards of the crew are awful. It varies between bad practice and dangerous and criminal.

A few examples:
-Really bad practices on deck ie. enclosed space entry with no permit and minimal checks
-Complete ignorance to MARPOL, literally everything goes over the side
-We do very few drills, most of the time we just sign the report for the company
-Bridge procedures are awful with the deck officers applying the biggest ship wins policy to the colregs

This is really annoying me as it is awful training aswell as dangerous practices. But it seems there is little I can do. I have told my training agency but there response seems to be that I should just deal with it and I have to stay on the ship to finish my seatime. But I cant really tell the owners DPA as for one I'm pretty sure he's turning a blinde eye and I fear that it will end badly for me as I have been told I have to stay on regardless and reporting the ship would just make thing harder. any advice?

[size4riggerboots]

Oh god, I don't really know what to say. How long do you have left? What flag state are you under? I'm wondering if there's a way you can anonymously report them to flag or port state control. Especially regarding MARPOL, if the garbage record book is wonky, and they have no garbage reciepts for plastics, sludge etc then they would surely get detained. Then the company would have to do something. I would go to the DPA, follow company proceedure etc, just be careful how you word it. Rather than saying what you want , ie "this is [email protected](ked up" say "I have serious concerns regarding X, and feel this needs to be brought to your attention". If nothing is done, then go to higher powers.

[Randomist]

It seems harsh to say, but as cadet you may be stuck in this situation for the duration of your sea time. Not saying it's right, there seems to be at least some malpractice going on with regards to international laws. Having not seen any evidence personally I wouldn't like to speculate on what is or is not going on.

I would first of say that since you are last trip, you seem, at least, to be in a position where you can identify things that aren't being done correctly.

Safety - Remember that onboard you are yourself responsible for your own safety. If you're being sent into a tank that hasn't been ventilated correctly or checked, see that it's ventilated and check it yourself. Otherwise, you are perfectly capable of saying you won't go into a situation that you feel is unsafe.

Environmental - If you are seriously concerned there are methods of reporting such things. Find out if your ships are supposed to be ISO14001 compliant with regard to its environmental policy, in which case there should be an environmental hotline listed somewhere to anonymously report such occurrences.

COLREGS and Bridge Procedures - Try asking the officer of the watch to help you with collision regs and items out of the bridge procedures guide. Find the documents on the company's expected practice and standing orders as well as the captains standing orders. Know what the rules are and know what SHOULD be done. Remember, as a cadet you are not responsible for anything. You will have no shared blame in the event of an accident as you don't have accountability for anything. If the officers want to neglect practice it's their ticket so it's up to them.

Drills - If you're concerned about getting things signed off, make the case that you would like to get involved in some practical drills to get tasks signed off in your book. If that fails find out what drills you should be doing at what intervals. How many times the boats should be going away? What area of the ship should this months drill be in? Where is the equipment stored for portable/fixed FFA? There's lots of stuff to find out.

Please remember that above all, you are not responsible for any malpractice, that's up to the Ship, the Captain and the Company. If they're not doing things right you can't be held accountable. If you are stuck on the ship for the duration then you will have to do your best to find out as much as you can off your own back and pressure people to help you with things if you're not getting the assistance you need.

Don't think that you're the only cadet to ever be put in this situation. It's not the end of your training it may just mean a little more work.

Hope this helps

[Unregistered]

Thanks guys.
I'm just not sure I am ok with reporting them to port state (i'm pretty sure the flag state would do nothing) as all of the crew are really nice guys and while what they are doing is wrong I wouldnt feel right about them losing their tickets or worse.

The personal safety and training bit of the problem worries me less as I know enough to keep my self safe and I am making an effort to learn the correct procedures etc. The lack of drills really worries me as I am fairly certian that if we had a actual emergancy we would be screwed.

While I am aware that I am not legaly responasable for what goes on on the ship I feel very strongly about the enviroment, to me polloution is not just illegal but dissrespectful to the rest of the world. I would also feel a huge personal responsability if we managed to kill a fisherman or yachtsperson, which nearly happened the other day and was the reason for me starting this post.

I guess I will just have to stick at it and make sure I act differently when I am an officer.

[Hook]

Most serious shipping companies today have established some kind of a whistleblower system where you can report these things anonymously. Look for a poster with instructions of how to use it or look in the company procedures.

Good luck!

[GuinnessMan]

Most serious shipping companies today have established some kind of a whistleblower system where you can report these things anonymously. Look for a poster with instructions of how to use it or look in the company procedures.

Good luck!

Bang on the money! Have a go through your SMS and you'll find it in there somewhere.

I highly doubt the DPA would turn a blind eye to it. They have legal obligations and flag states are happy to bang them up along with the crew if they've not shown their due diligence. I understand you wish to remain anonymous, but send us some more details and we might know someone higher up over there.....

[Randomist]

Just as a side note- please don't post any company details or details of ships/individual crew members. Anything like that will be removed.

[GuinnessMan]

Just as a side note- please don't post any company details or details of ships/individual crew members. Anything like that will be removed.

Of course, PM it or something.

[Unregistered]

May I suggest as a last resort;

If you are 100% sure they are breaking the MARPOL regulations and you are operating in Europe / America / South America get the email address of your next port's harbour master (readily available from most port's websites - failing that ALRS) and send them an anonymous email advising what has happened. (Include dates/times/position (if possible) and what was done).

"i.e.: We discharged several tonnes of plastic"

As I say, make sure they are actually breaking the law and this would be a last resort - If your company has one then you must go through your company's anonymous reporting system first.

[YoungMariner]

CHIRP - Confidential Hazardous Incident Reporting Program

The aim of CHIRP is to contribute to the enhancement of aviation safety in the UK and maritime safety worldwide, by providing a totally independent confidential (not anonymous) reporting system for all individuals employed in or associated with these industries.

Reporters' identities are kept confidential. Personal details are not retained and are returned to the reporter or destroyed on closure of their report. The information provided is made available, with the approval of the reporter, and in a disidentified form to those who can take action to remedy the problem. Important information gained through reports, after being disidentified, is also made as widely as possible, principally through the publications Air Transport FEEDBACK, General Aviation FEEDBACK, Cabin Crew FEEDBACK and Maritime FEEDBACK with the aim of improving safety. standards.

This is a very effective, and government endorsed system for reporting the kind of situation you are allegedly experiencing.

https://www.chirp.co.uk

[GuinnessMan]

This is a very effective, and government endorsed system for reporting the kind of situation you are allegedly experiencing.

www.chirp.co.uk

Last I heard CHIRP has been discontinued for the marine side due to a lack of funding. MARS is still going (and is better IMHO). For something like this, go the official route, if you have 100% proof that they are not following procedures then make use your whistleblowing hotline. From the shoreside perspective, anything like what you've described will put the ****s up most SMT's shoreside and an investigation will be done and you will not be identified during it.

[penfold]

CHIRP's still chirping? There was a bit of a funding crisis thanks to HMG deciding safety wasn't a priority, but various industry bodies and some companies seem to have picked up the slack.

[GuinnessMan]

CHIRP's still chirping? There was a bit of a funding crisis thanks to HMG deciding safety wasn't a priority, but various industry bodies and some companies seem to have picked up the slack.

I wouldn't say they cancelled it due to safety, just that the Nautical Institute had a much better system going. MARS reports are a damn sight better than CHIRP (IMHO)....