With the use of modern technologies in shipping, safety, efficiency, and the speed of transporting materials and products have become paramount. In the maritime industry, the safety of the crew is the top priority, as human life can be extremely costly for the shipowner, even leading to imprisonment. Therefore, the shipowner selects those seafarers who have completed the necessary safety courses and are proficient in effectively using new technologies in the maritime field.

Two of the most important courses for this purpose are Maritime Resource Management and Engine Room Resource Management. Shipowners recommend that every seafarer take these courses to enhance their qualifications, improve the efficient use of new technologies, and also improve communication within the crew.

Maritime Resource Management

Maritime Resource Management (MRM) unites all personnel with the aim of improving cooperation and communication within the crew, especially the officers who work on the bridge and control the ship, right from its heart. Overall, MRM focuses on managing both routine and unusual situations and actions on the ship, with the goal of improving problem-solving and handling difficult and unusual situations through communication within the team. Maritime Resource Management is very important for avoiding human errors, which are one of the main causes of maritime accidents, leading to fatal and unfortunate incidents.

Example from a Real Collision for MRM:

On May 27, 2003, such an incident occurred. In the English Channel, which lies between France and England, two vessels collided and sank—a yacht and a container ship. On that day, there was dense fog, making it impossible to see anything around. Because of this, both crews had to rely solely on navigational equipment and the professionalism of the people on the bridge. However, due to the lack of competence and overconfidence of both crews, an accident occurred, and the two vessels sank. Fortunately, there were no human casualties in this accident, but the investigation into the incident revealed several critical errors that played a decisive role in the collision:

  • Incompetence of the yacht’s captain, who misinterpreted the radar information and did not know which COLREG rule to apply in foggy conditions.
  • Overconfidence of the container ship’s captain, who maintained excessive speed.
  • Duties were not properly distributed on the bridge of both vessels, which prevented them from avoiding this tragedy.

The third point is directly related to Maritime Resource Management. These courses illustrate various challenging and emergency situations to prepare seafarers for stressful situations and to train their communication within the team to avoid collisions and other accidents.

Engine Room Resource Management

Engine Room Resource Management encompasses all the activities carried out by engineers in the engine room and employs the ERM (Engine Room Resource Management) approach to ensure that technical errors are quickly resolved and that communication within the engineering team is productive. This includes, for example, senior engineers assisting junior and less experienced engineers to facilitate their faster growth. Additionally, effective communication within the engineering team on board contributes to the rapid detection of technical problems, such as issues with the main engine, valves, and other technical components, allowing for quicker resolution of these issues.

Example from a Real Collision for ERM

On November 2010 a fire occurred in the engine room of the cruise liner ”Carnival Splendor” which was on its way from the Port of Long Beach to the Mexican Riviera. The source of this fire was the breakdown of the diesel generator which was installed in the engine room of the ship. This unfortunate incident clearly depicts the critical role of Engine Room Resource Management (ERRM) at the operational level, specifically in the prevention of such accidents and controlling incase there are any emergencies.

Crew Errors in the Engine Room:

  • Delayed Activation of the Fire Suppression System: Once the fire had started within the engine room, one of the engineers switched off the fire suppression system believing that it was just an exercise. This blunder caused a delay of 15 minutes in comming to the rescue and attempt to suppress the fire.
  • Lack of Familiarity with the Engine Room: Substandard engineers were not adequately conversant with fire fighting techniques and could not locate the fire source in time.
  • Improper ventilation of the fire compartment: Opening the ventilation in the zone of the fire is also another mistake since it made the fire burn even further.
  • Breakdown in Communication and Coordination: Most importantly, due to the very awkward situation, all members of the crew did not perceive how critical the fire was or even when it started.

However, passengers were all unharmed and the vessel remained afloat, but the results were horrible nonetheless. It is known that people were deprived of air conditioning and toilets for four days for example. Furthermore, due to incompetence of the engineers’ actions the shipowners incurred losses of over several hundred million dollars. This is the kind of outcome that can result when engineers do not properly go through the Engine Room Resource Management training.

Conclusion

We have examined two key areas in the maritime industry for safety, effective resource management, and communication. Through real-life examples, we see how sailors who have not properly completed or have entirely neglected such courses can face dire consequences. For this reason, it is essential for all seafarers to take the Engine Room Resource Management  and Maritime Resource Management courses. I hope this article convinces future sailors of the importance of these critical aspects.