Unit 4: Safety & Environmental Management II

The impact on the marine environment of maritime transport and port activities has increasingly become a major concern for all countries today, despite notable improvements achieved in recent decades in terms of the reduction of the levels of pollution released into the sea. People are increasingly demanding higher environment, which is certainly a challenge to the development of shipping and ports. The aim of this subject is to present current marine environmental standards and requirements, especially in the context of maritime transport. The subject will also provide a general overview of likely future developments in marine environmental standards of ships, shipping, port operations and development, as well as ship-scrapping activities.

 

To develop an understanding of the procedures, legal aspects and practical procedures in maritime casualty investigation and to provide knowledge and understanding of the legal, technical and human factor aspects of maritime casualties including the processes of investigation and evaluation. Further, it will provide experience in the use of computer databases and statistical tools in maritime casualty investigation. Discussions will be held on the revision of statistical data of marine casualties, investigation processes and worldwide sources of information on casualties so as to understand the ingredients for investigation that allow a fair and accurate determination of causes of accidents, responsibility and what lessons can be learnt from these.

 

Given the nature of maritime transport, some accidents may present large-scale threats to the safety of life, property and environment resulting serious consequences. To minimize such an impact, crisis management schemes and contingency plans must be in place. The aim of this subject is to provide the basic knowledge of crisis management with an emphasis on its application in the maritime sector. Crisis-based decision-making will be discussed and the principles and procedures of contingency planning for maritime disasters and accidents will be explained in detail including search and rescue management, salvage and pollution emergencies.

 

The purpose of this subject is to provide a thorough understanding of selected advanced technical aspects of maritime safety implementation and survey principles and practices in general. Special emphasis will be placed on the policy and management of survey and certification activities under the international requirements particularly the SOLAS and MARPOL Conventions. This subject will provide the management principles as well as information about a standard and systematic approach for various types of surveys, such as hull survey and machinery survey for different types of ships including tankers, bulk carrier, container ships, high-speed craft and non-conventional vessels. The principles, strategy and good practice of certification will be explained and discussed.

 

To examine the policy and technical issues concerning the prevention of marine pollution, with an emphasis on the major and new sources of pollution from ships and cargo. The rules and technical details relating to the transportation by sea of dangerous and pollutant cargoes will also be discussed.

 

The Project Paper is a written paper or report of empirical/theoretical research in connection with a practical/theoretical topic in the area of one of the units of the MSc Programme. This should be an original study by the student about a topic of his/her own choice in consultation with a designated supervisor. The project paper should be between 35 - 45 pages in which the problem formulation is elaborated and in which the topic has been methodically worked out through adequate research. The paper may be in the form of a (practical) consultancy project or a scientific (publishable) paper. The Project Paper is not a business plan or company’s strategic plan; it requires more academic thought and research, and must be presented in appropriate academic style. The Project Paper may not simply describe a situation, but must be an analysis and evaluation of a situation with recommendations given.