AUGUST 30, 2013 — The Steamship Mutual P&I Club has announced the launch of its latest loss prevention DVD: "Groundings – Shallow Waters, Deep Trouble."

The club says that the consequences of a vessel running aground vary in severity, but are potentially devastating. In cases where the vessel becomes a constructive total loss, or environmental damage arises or is threatened, and there is a requirement to remove the wreck, the resulting liabilities can be enormous.

"In many countries the cost of wreck removal is not constrained by limitation, and as ships become ever larger and more complex, the cost of such operations escalates accordingly," says the club. "This is particularly the case when the location of the casualty is remote, or subject to adverse environmental conditions."

The club notes that despite the increasing sophistication of vessels' navigational equipment, machinery, and standards of training, groundings continue to occur, "sometimes in circumstances which challenge credulity."

In recent years ship groundings have been responsible for a very high proportion of the largest claims paid under the International Group's Pooling and Excess Loss Reinsurance arrangements.  In many incidents a stark contrast often exists between the apparent simplicity of the cause of the grounding, and the severity of its consequences.  

The new loss prevention videp examines a number of grounding incidents and their causes and has been endorsed by the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch and the Nautical Institute.

The DVD includes not only the film but also many formal investigation reports on grounding incidents for reference and study, and links to relevant websites. As with previous Steamship Mutual loss prevention materials, the DVD has been produced with the financial support of The Ship Safety Trust with the objective of raising awareness of the causes of groundings and their consequences and to assist in avoiding unnecessary loss.

Chris Adams, Director and Head of Loss Prevention at Steamship Insurance Management Services Limited said:

"Groundings appear to be occurring with some regularity and in circumstances which give rise to concern about issues such as fatigue management, passage planning, vessel resource management, and bridge watch-keeping. The objective of this DVD, through its focus on grounding incidents is to raise awareness of the issues that caused those ships to run aground, and to serve as the catalyst for improved practice where this might be necessary. There is the potential for millions of dollars of unnecessary loss to be avoided and we hope that this programme will make a significant contribution to achieving that objective."

The DVD will be released in the first week of September 2013 and complimentary copies will be distributed to club members at that time for supply to their vessels. In the meantime the trailer for the film can be seen HERE