Accidents Hurt, Safety Doesn't : KLSM

K Line Ship Management Group, having the head office in Tokyo, and branches / subsidiaries in Singapore, Manila, Mumbai and Jakarta, believes that accidents on board affect not only the seafarer, but also his entire family as well as adversely affect the company's reputation and its finances. With Human Error forming a majority of root causes in Maritime Industry, it is possible to avoid the accidents and injuries, with a little extra effort from the Company's resources and Seafarers skills – and achieve the target of Zero accidents. Learning from mistakes made by us, as well as by others in the industry, is an integral part of this effort, to achieve Safety on board.

KLSM's Annual Seminar, Part-A of 2017 held in Mumbai, was the apt forum for their seafarers to meet up with peers and the senior top management, and discuss ideas, share knowledge and network – with the theme of Safety, and target of Zero accidents and Zero injuries. Gracing the 2-day Seminar were the President of KLSM Group Capt T. Saito, the Senior Management from Tokyo, and from Singapore, along with the Marine & Technical Superintendents from both offices, and of course the Seafarers.

Enlightening the seafarers further on this was Capt. S.K. Goyal, CEO, KLSM Mumbai at his welcome address, on the opening morning of the two day Seminar, at Mumbai's lavish Hotel Hyatt Regency.

The President of KLSM Group Capt. T. Saito, delivered his opening speech, and updated everyone with the events that have taken place between the last Seminar and this one, and also about the company's performance. He also appreciated the Indian Seafarers for their relentless efforts on board to achieve improved performances continuously - "I am very pleased by the performance of our officers on board our vessels. Continue your good work with passion," he advised. This was a significant morale booster for all present.

There is a popular adage: "Learning from one's own mistakes is normal, but learning from mistakes made by others, and not making those mistakes in our life – is smarter and wiser," opined Capt. Goyal.

A very special Guest for this event was Miss Nanami Fukuda, daughter of Capt. Shoji Fukuda, M.D. Of KLSM Singapore. She had been to India as a tourist earlier, and was very excited to be in Mumbai. President Capt. Saito San asked her as to what she likes about India, and her answer was – “two things, one is the Indian Culture, and second is the Indian People who are so lively and friendly”. She spoke about her experiences from her travel through the Indian terrain and her observations.

The seminar discussed past incidents/accidents at length, and analysed each one of those to reach the root cause. Several "Workshops" were conducted during the two day event, to drive home the lessons learnt, and to impart learning to the seafarers on how those accidents could have been avoided.

Elaborating on one such case study on a recent incident in the KLSM fleet was Capt. P Bhaumik, QCG Dept, Tokyo. This eye-opener session presented the incident investigation, corrective action and guidance report on ways to prevent any such accident in future.

"Accidents at sea are often attributed to human errors. There is an increasing influx of new technology in shipping. Also, changing maritime rules pose tremendous pressure on the seafarers who must analyse information from multiple sources that keep on changing during the course of each voyage. Thus, there is an additional need for them to keep themselves constantly updated with the changes in global shipping and with regards to the ways accidents can be prevented on board. Forums like this act as best learning opportunities for them," stated Capt. Bhaumik.

Discussing another incident was Capt. Pranshu Vashisht from KLSM Singapore. His unique approach and detailed data proved to be very handy to realise what can go wrong, even during a very routine and normal operation on all ships.

Another very interesting case study discussed at the event was that of Ballast Pump Water hammer case. Since very little is known about water hammer, its causes and prevention, the presentation made by Capt. Rakesh Rai from MSI was a huge learning lesson for all.

Post lunch, the seafarers were divided into two sections – deck and engine. Two parallel sessions were being held for these officers targeting the concerns of both. "Each wing has certain challenges and problems of their own and needs to be combated differently," opined Capt. Saito.

For the deck officers, Capt. Bhaumik presented a video on an accident in restricted visibility. Specially made by K Line for training, the video presented ways to prevent accidents during such navigation. Simultaneously, Mr. Saji Paul, TSI, Tokyo made an equally brilliant presentation for Engineers, on a case study of a machinery incident investigation combined with a workshop.

The deck officers were enlightened on ECDIS navigational related incidents, near misses and lessons learned.

A brain storming session on eliminating human elements in deck and engine accidents was taken up by Capt. Juvale, QCD, Singapore, and Mr. Sunish Shanker, TSI, KLSM, respectively.

Various case studies were also discussed during these 2 days for deck and engine officers by KLSM delegates. All these case studies were found to be very useful for understanding the causes of the failures and for future preventive actions.

Day 2 of the seminar started with Table Top Exercise for Oil Spill incident. The seafarers were divided into various teams such as ship, agent, P& I, port authority, office and such. The entire exercise was explained to all participants, and then conducted with full vigour and zeal, replicating a live incident on board. This was well received by all.

Seafarers are at sea for long months. The seminar briefed them about the importance of health by Mr. Saji Paul who spoke on weight loss, quitting smoking, and healthy living on board.

A team building exercise was also conducted by Mr. Deepak Seth of KLSM Singapore office, which was interesting, fun and lively, and was enjoyed by all.

Later, Capt. Bhaumik addressed the gathering with an update on vetting results. "It's really encouraging to see that there is a lot of positive reporting. This indicates that high dedication is exercised by our seafarers on board, to ensure good results in vetting," said Capt. Bhaumik. Continuing the vetting theme, Capt. Juvale also gave a presentation on Shell zero incident industry and implementation of the same in KLSM.

The key highlight on the seminar was Capt. Jai Makin and CE Chellakumar San, sharing their experiences and feelings, while working onboard KLSM vessels. Interestingly, both these officers are presently working on LNG vessels in KLSM. This was followed by an open forum which was aimed towards collecting ship staff views, suggestions and feedback on areas for improvements by KLSM management.

Towards the closing, Mr. N. Watanbe from K Line MHRG Tokyo addressed the audience, with the company's future plans. He along with Capt. S. Fukuda, MD of Singapore office thanked all the Indian seafarers for their invaluable performance on board KLSM vessels.

KLSM acknowledged the seafarers for their outstanding performance, loyalty, and cooperation with others. As a token of this recognition, and to appreciate the continuous and loyal service to KLSM, deserving officers who have completed 15 years of continuous service with KLSM, were awarded, and rewarded with a beautiful pair of luxury watches – one for him, and one for her – because the wife's contribution is as important as the Seafarer himself, because without her support, he can not be on board. The Awards were presented by the President Capt T. Saito, to the Seafarers & Their Better Half, to the thunderous applause by all present.

In addition, the usual 7 Years Loyalty awards were also presented to deserving Seafarers.

To celebrate the grand success of the Seminar, a magnificent gala cocktail and dinner was organized for all the seafarers on the end of day-two, thus marking of yet another successful KLSM Officers' Meet.