BERTRANC - Methodology of safety in marine operations
Overview
Background & policy context:
Despite the major role of waterborne transport in Europe and its achieved efficiency, the safety record of maritime operations over the past 15 years has not been acceptable. A number of incidents and accidents have brought into question the industry's reputation and its public image. The impacts of severe accidents have been significant in terms of both environmental damage and loss of life or injuries to employees. Therefore improving maritime safety has become a top priority for the European Commission.
Objectives:
BERTRANC aimed to help develop a common methodology for investigating maritime accidents and reporting of hazardous incidents, and also to improve the understanding of human factors related to those events.
The main objectives of BERTRANC have been:
- to gain a thorough understanding of the existing safety procedures and methodologies currently employed by Member States;
- to gain an appreciation of whether systems employed by other transport modes could be employed in the maritime sector;
- to implement a common accident reporting methodology agreeable to all Member States;
- to develop a marine version of the Confidential Hazardous Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP); and
- to identify remedial tools.
Share this page