Regulation and Compliance

In the maritime world, we frequently drill scenarios such as a fire onboard, or man overboard, because it’s a requirement. But how do you manage your medical drills to keep the whole crew competent?

We’ve taken a look at the 2023 Casualty Summary Report from the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (MACI) to see what kind of incidents and trends their data shows us, even with relatively small data sets, and how this may be able to transfer to our own risk assessments and actual practice.

The Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS) Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant and other vessels.

According to the UKs National Institute for Clinical Excellence, (NICE: https://www.nice.org.uk/), ships being on the water for months at a time mean that health can be a life-threatening challenge for sailors and seafarers.

Telemedicine is a term that’s becoming more and more common in the maritime world. Quite simply, it is the provision of remote clinical services, via real-time two-way communication between the patient (or often their onboard medic) and a shore-based healthcare professional, using electronic audio and visual means.

 In March 2019, the US Coastguard issued a list of the 11 most common causes of boating accidents and stated that most critical incidents stem from these 11 events: 

Finding the right level of medical training in the marine industry can be tricky, especially for leisure sailors and power boaters. There simply isn’t a lot of choice and you could find yourself on a course that’s too basic, or at the other end of the scale biting off more than you can chew! It can also be difficult to find instructors who really understand what it’s like to be a long way from shore and having to manage a casualty (and a boat!) for quite some time before help

Working with our industry partners is an important part of what we do. Supporting the UK P&I Club is something that we are very proud of. Find out more...