Page 32 - Practical Design Ships and Floating Structures

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3 SAFETY CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF SHIP AND OFFSHORE INSTALLATIONS
DESIGN STANDARDS

3. I Maritime safety culture
As I have mentioned previously, safety chain promotes safety culture. Maritime safety culture can be
defined as spirit of safety at sea and the associated systems, behaviors. The spirit of safety at sea means
the objective of safeguarding of safety at sea and prevention of marine pollution. To pursue such an
objective, all the partners involved in the safety chain take their own responsibilities in the context of
safety culture.

3.2 Extension of impIication of maritime safety culture

Safety culture is evolving. Half of centuries ago, safety at sea was regarded as the responsibility of
shipping companies and ships. Share of responsibility was not clear and not many parties were
involved. Safety chain was not in place due to lack of insight and low level of scientific technology.
Conventions and regulations did not have substantial content and class rules and regulations were far
from mature. For one hundred years, class rules had relies on experience or a combination of
experience and theory.

Today, it is changing. With the rapid progress of technology, globalization, development of information
technology, ship and offshore engineering technology has developed into a systematic science. The
rapid progress of ship and offshore engineering technology has promoted the development of
shipbuilding industry, shipping industry and seaborne transportation. Safety chain has involved more
and more parties in the areas of shipowning, administration, maritime economics, management,
ideology, media and many others (See Fig.1). A well-functioning safety chain has greatly enriched the
maritime safety culture (Li Kejun, 2001).
The discussions about substandard ships has gone more extensively and extensively and brought about
the discussions on quality shipping, which is beyond technical considerations. Quality shipping is an
extended concept. In addition to the four “Ms”, it includes the concept of quality control. All partners
are part of the quality system. In IACS, some members have acquired IS09000 certificates aside from
IACS QSCS certificate. Some shipping companies are working towards IS0114000 and IS0/18000 in
addition to IS0/9000. Quality shipping is also a part of safety culture.
One of the characteristics of modem society is associated with risk and risk-assessment. Classification
societies have introduced the methodology of risk assessment to its rule-making process. Risk
management has become a major part of safety culture.