Canadian authorities want ship records onboard for life

During a Transportation Safety Board of Canada accident investigation, the agency found that safety significant information is often no longer kept on a vessel due to a change in management. The Board’s senior marine investigator, Capt Paul Drouin, said that he believes this issue to be one of the weak links of the ISM paradigm at present.

In its report into the accident, which was caused by a failure of a ship’s steering gear, the Board recommended that The Department of Transport advocate at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) effective measures to ensure that maintenance and failure records remain on board throughout a vessel’s life.