News: A Sea of Distractions - texting while driving

Chirp Maritime and University College London (UCL) released a new video titled 'Sea of Distractions' to highlight how the misuse of personal devices (mobile phones, music players, tablets) while on duty can lead to serious safety issues.

Distractions arising from the use of smart devices was identified as the main contributing factor in the grounding of general cargo ship Priscilla in July 2018 and the grounding of tanker Attilio Levoli in 2004. A mere moment of distraction can bring about tragic consequences.

In a bid to address this issue, Chirp and UCL re-enacted a hypothetical scenario backed with scientific evidence to explain how and why seafarers getting distracted by their devices while on the bridge and making reckless decisions to secure extra time within mobile range is a disastrous combination.

For further reading on this topic, Capt John Dolan, Deputy Director of Loss Prevention at Standard Club shared his thoughts on navigational safety and the challenges for improvement from a P&I club’s perspective.

Category: Loss Prevention