Seafarers have been invited to take part in a new competition based on the risks they face, with a prize fund of USD10,000.
In an initiative said to be the first of its kind in the industry, The Standard Club protection and indemnity insurance association has joined with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) to launch the ‘Spot the Hazard Competition’.
Open to any seafarer worldwide, the competition has been launched in an effort to raise awareness of potential hazards at sea.
An ICS spokesman IHS Maritime, “This is a unique first for the industry. The aim is to get seafarers thinking about the hazards they face at sea and look at how they can come up with solutions. We need to find new way[s] to tackle risk, and to engage the seafarers to provide their views and ideas in how those risks can be reduced has the potential to give the industry some original solutions.
“The prize money is significant, but so are the threats faced by seafarers across the world.”
Seafarers entering the competition will be asked to identify hazards shown on a series of images depicting typical scenes on board ships. Seafarers are also invited to submit a safety idea relevant to the image that can be shared throughout the industry. The competition runs until 28 August.
The competition features five separate images: the bridge, engine room, main deck, galley, and a port terminal scene. The instructions for entry into the competition have also been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Hindi, and Mandarin. Seafarers can submit entries for as many of the five images as they wish, with the winner for each being awarded a prize of USD2,000.
Yves Vandenborn, director of loss prevention at Charles Taylor & Co, manager of The Standard Club said, “Every year there are thousands of accidents that could have been prevented and we want to encourage all those working at sea to identify hazards and deal with them effectively. This competition has been designed to both raise awareness of what constitutes a hazard and to encourage an innovative approach to safety. We believe that everyone on board a ship is responsible for its safety and this is why we have made sure that the competition is open to serving seafarers of all ranks and nationalities.”
ICS secretary general, Peter Hinchliffe, added, “ICS is committed to the promotion of an effective safety culture throughout the global shipping industry. We therefore want to help seafarers understand the relationship between unsafe acts and serious incidents. Our goal in launching this new competition is to encourage all seafarers to think about safety as a matter of course during their everyday duties.”
To enter the competition, seafarers simply need to visit www.hazard-competition.com and follow the instructions provided.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
