Recommendation Date
Recipient Name
MNZ
Text
Following the accident, the Commission had some difficulty accessing sufficient information about the Easy Rider, a vessel that was still actively in the system. Maritime New Zealand was not able to find the older part of the ship file. Consequently the Commission had to rely on records from other vessels in order to make a reasonable assessment of the Easy Rider's stability.
When the Easy Rider was converted for inshore trawling it was required to undergo a simplified stability assessment, which it did, but the records sourced from the safe ship management company included only partial details of the inclining test and stability calculation that had been carried out. There was no record of the stability advice letter said to have been sent to the owner. Such a letter would normally include recommendations on the loading of the vessel.
Because commercial vessels can frequently change ownership and their owners can switch between safe ship management providers, there is a need for Maritime New Zealand to maintain a central database of all important safety and operation records for the entire life of each vessel in the system.
The Commission recommends the Director of Maritime New Zealand develops and maintains a system for centralising important operating and safety records for every commercial vessel in the New Zealand maritime system, including a policy on the retention and disposal of records that would best ensure records are kept for an appropriate period after a vessel leaves the system.
When the Easy Rider was converted for inshore trawling it was required to undergo a simplified stability assessment, which it did, but the records sourced from the safe ship management company included only partial details of the inclining test and stability calculation that had been carried out. There was no record of the stability advice letter said to have been sent to the owner. Such a letter would normally include recommendations on the loading of the vessel.
Because commercial vessels can frequently change ownership and their owners can switch between safe ship management providers, there is a need for Maritime New Zealand to maintain a central database of all important safety and operation records for the entire life of each vessel in the system.
The Commission recommends the Director of Maritime New Zealand develops and maintains a system for centralising important operating and safety records for every commercial vessel in the New Zealand maritime system, including a policy on the retention and disposal of records that would best ensure records are kept for an appropriate period after a vessel leaves the system.
Reply Text
MNZ currently has a centralised database for records relating to vessels. Since September 2008 this has included records relating to vessel name and type, inspections, audits, deficiencies, and corrective actions for vessels in the SSM system. Ownership is recorded at the time of issue and reissue of SSM certificates. In addition, information about each vessel is held by the Safe Ship Management Company responsible for carrying out functions for that vessel.
It is proposed that the current SSM framework will be replaced with the new Maritime Operator Safety System (MOSS). Going forward, this will mean that all key vessel information is held and managed by MNZ. The implementation work for MOSS includes consideration and assessment of how best to provide for the transition and management of information currently held by SSM companies.
It is proposed that the current SSM framework will be replaced with the new Maritime Operator Safety System (MOSS). Going forward, this will mean that all key vessel information is held and managed by MNZ. The implementation work for MOSS includes consideration and assessment of how best to provide for the transition and management of information currently held by SSM companies.
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