Three little, but often misunderstood words – safety management system, or SMS for short – have been everywhere in the maritime news recently. Yes, SMS seems to be the current buzz phrase of the day! I have seen an alarming increase in incident and accident reporting that references SMS failures and non-adherence as the primary causes.
So, what’s going wrong? Why is the SMS being overlooked or, worse of all, simply ignored? This is the central theme of my column this month. Let me start by giving you a few pointers and examples to focus your mind, as it has done mine:
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has recommended a ship operator take further steps to improve its safety management system, after a mixed cargo and passenger vessel lost steering in the Bass Strait last year.
To kick off Maritime Safety Week recently in the UK, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents at the UK MAIB, Rob Loder, wrote ‘Beyond the binder: making safety management systems work at sea’.
He continued, “A thorough and comprehensive SMS is one of the most powerful tools available to mariners. Required under international law by the IMO, an SMS sets out procedures, processes and policies, guiding crews through routine operations and, critically, identifying risks and setting out how to manage them. Done properly, emergency response procedures are planned in advance, so that when a crisis strikes, nothing is left to chance.
“But an SMS is only as good as its implementation. Too often, our investigations reveal a troubling pattern. Often SMS have failed to prevent an accident because they had not fully identified all the operational hazards. We have also had examples where the SMS was seen as a compliance exercise and filed away rather than used as a way to engage staff in working safely. An SMS should be a living document that is regularly reviewed and updated.”
The most destructive mistake in maritime safety management is reducing the SMS to a bureaucratic exercise. On paper, the company looks safe: thick manuals, dozens of forms, complete binders ready for audits.
Adherence to the SMS would certainly have helped minimise the events that led to the disaster and perhaps might even have prevented it from happening altogether.
Viewing SMS as a cost, not an investment – many managers focus on minimum compliance. They see SMS only as something “you must have” to pass audits and avoid detentions. They miss the fact that an effective SMS reduces accidents, downtime, and insurance costs.
A SMS created only in the office is destined to fail. When procedures are written by shore staff and handed down to ships without input from seafarers, the result is predictable: documents that are impractical, ignored, and often bypassed.
I guess you get my drift and the rather depressing picture I am painting. Safety Management Systems are now also making their way into the UK under 24 metre regulatory landscape for the first time following the launch of the MCA’s Sport & Pleasure Vessel Code, which mandates them. To some vessel owners and operators this will be an entirely new concept.
I recommend an excellent short guide entitled ‘5 common SMS mistakes and how to avoid them’ by Deepbridge Maritime Consulting – an excellent resource seemingly. A PDF copy can be freely downloaded.
You will forgive me now for turning to highlight what is a UK-centric, but important story that is not directly related to marine surveying, but to the safety of life at sea. Driving a car in the UK under the influence of alcohol has been illegal for many years, but not so getting behind the helm of a recreational vessel. This feels like a loophole in the law that needs urgently fixing, and fast, before more people die needlessly on the water.
I would like to personally add my support to the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s (MAIB) recommendation to see a change in the law.
Here’s the background to the story. A recent MAIB report has examined the collision of the rigid inflatable boat Peaky Blinder with a navigation beacon in Portsmouth Harbour on 14 August 2025. Two people tragically and needlessly lost their lives, and a third was injured. The report found that the boat was travelling at an unsafe speed and that the alcohol consumed by its operator substantially increased the likelihood of the accident. The report has also identified a longstanding gap in UK law, with no enforceable alcohol limits applying to non-professional mariners.
As a consequence, the MAIB has recommended that the Secretary of State for Transport:
- bring into force the alcohol provisions for non-professional mariners contained in section 80 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003
- introduce proportionate secondary legislation defining how the limits will apply, and
- establish a national education and awareness campaign to support behavioural change among recreational boaters.
The UK Parliament legislated alcohol limits for both professional and non-professional mariners in 2003, but the principal provisions relating to recreational users were excluded when most of the legislation came into force the following year.
Introducing alcohol limits would not amount to a blanket ban on drinking aboard recreational vessels. It would, however, mean that the person responsible for navigating the vessel must remain within prescribed limits. And that seems wholly sensible and proportionate to me.
Survey well.
Mike Schwarz
Chief Executive Officer