Four ships emerged as top performers in near miss reporting for the fourth quarter of 2021. Bow Cecil, Bow Explorer, Bow Firda and Bow Oceanic were acknowledged for helping strengthen Odfjell's safety culture by ensuring that near misses are recorded and addressed. With this recognition, the 2021 initiative to award cash prizes for near miss reporting top ships is concluded. Each vessel is awarded with 100 USD added to their welfare fund.
The recognition was well-received by the crew on board the 1998-built Bow Cecil, who just sailed out of drydock.
Again, I feel the recognition is the result of our resilient efforts to improve onboard safety. Reporting near misses will continuously improve crew understanding of how risks are handled and how we learn from them. Consistency to safety on a day-to-day basis is the best practice towards zero accident ships.
Captain Luisito Cantona
Of course, I am very delighted to hear such recognition because this shows that the people around us notice our efforts to prevent hazards and accidents on board. This also encourages me to further continue such practices.
Electrician Trainee Harvey John F. Ayupan
Reporting near misses helps us learn from and improve our mistakes, and this applies not only to the specific personnel but also to the rest of the crew, and everyone in the fleet. It is our responsibility to keep our colleagues and the ship safe. And by reporting near misses, we show commitment in further improving our safety culture.
Deck Cadet Zimvo Alizwa Lugadlalala
Near misses are more like mistakes that take place during operations onboard. Sharing our mistakes is the best practice that we can do to educate others and to help prevent the same mistakes from happening again. Through drills and schooling, the crew can be educated on how to be safe during activities on board their ship.
Deck Cadet Lungisile Portia Mbutho
It is best to learn from near misses, and to be mindful at all times. That way, we all benefit from what previously are mistakes.
Chief Cook Renato Terrible
Bow Explorer is the youngest among the vessels recognized this quarter. For the crew of this 2020-built chemical tanker, reporting near misses is about making the future better: preventing potential accidents, keeping operational and safety procedures up-to-date, and ultimately, coming home safe.
There is no doubt that near miss reporting is an extremely important task. When we identify, report, and share near misses within the fleet, it gives us all better opportunity to lever our preventive efforts against accidents. It helps us identify risky operations and therefore allows us to be better prepared to avoid accidents.
We all much appreciate the award and recognition by Odfjell for our contribution of near misses! It is a team effort by all, crew and officers included, to actively promote and maintain a good safety culture. Everybody must be supported and recognized for detecting and reporting a near miss.
As professionals, our philosophy onboard is that a near miss recognized today is an accident avoided tomorrow.
Captain Karl-Henrik Persson
It is heartwarming and rewarding at the same time to be part of this recognition, to know that our vessel and we—the crew—are on the right track, keeping safety on board as our topmost priority. I do believe that reporting near misses is always a positive thing. We were called by the sea not only to provide support to our family, but to also make our working environment better, and safer. Through this near miss reporting process, we promote safety and improve our situational awareness. That is why it is so important to have a “zero-accident mindset” which for me is the best practice I can share to my colleagues, and what I believe is our key to return home safely to our loved ones.
Third Officer Ian Chester Piad
We feel honored and inspired to do better knowing our efforts are appreciated. Near miss reporting is important to spread awareness and to identify any potential risk from all aspects of our work environment. It is also the first step in keeping our operational and safety procedures up-to-date, so we could prevent incidents from happening.
Fourth Engineer Wilbert Española
To be among the crew of the ship recognized as one of the best performing ships on near miss reporting makes me feel very proud. This shows the kind of a team we have on board: a team that is effective, does not compromise on safety and most importantly, looks after each other. It is important to report near misses because it develops a culture that seeks to identify and control hazards and reduces risks that may potentially harm an individual.
Messman Jay Joseph De Leon
The recognition has made the Bow Firda crew honored, and at the same time, more inspired to contribute in further improving safety in Odfjell.
I am proud of the officers and crew on the Bow Firda, they have really lived up to the Odfjell standard of near miss reporting.
It is important to report near misses because we and other vessels, I believe, can learn from them and maybe prevent a real accident from happening. Similarly, it pays to be alert at all times, think ahead, not rush into doing anything, and always perform task risk assessment before doing a job. This way, we can eliminate or take action on any danger related to the job.
Captain Stig-Helge Larsen
It is an honor to be recognized as one of the best performing ships in near misses. This recognition drives our motivation further and inspires to always do more than what is expected.
For me, life is a series of near misses that teach us lessons. And as Tom Bodett said: In school, you're taught a lesson and given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.
We can count on near misses to teach us these lessons in the context of our work. Still, the best practice will always be to put safety first.
Third Officer Lloyd Lescano
This recognition inspires us to report more near misses encountered on board. The opportunity to share incidents so other vessels can avoid them is more than enough for us. This will be one of our biggest contributions both to Odfjell’s safety culture, and to the growing organization.
Reporting incidents and near misses helps us prevent the same incidents to happen and further down, makes us more vigilant when the same tasks are done. Here in Bow Firda, we refer to the lessons learned reported near misses reported when conducting our task risk assessment. This practice allows us to have preventive measures on potential incidents, based on what had already happened to other ships. Sharing experiences and guidance also helps especially with those who are new in our trade.
Third Engineer Ramon Ba-ad, Jr.
We are happy to be recognized. Reporting near misses will continue to motivate us in improving our safety on board and in helping other vessels ensure that future incidents, injuries, and damages are avoided. This is because the practice helps us identify hazards and therefore lessens potential harm to personnel, leading us to a future with zero accidents. The best practice is always to follow company procedures: Don’t take any shortcuts, and use complete and proper PPE in every task on board.
Able Seaman Jhon Rey Alcarde
For the Bow Oceanic crew, reporting near misses is also about open communication, and finding opportunity for training. They welcomed the recognition with delight and motivation to keep their stellar performance.
The award creates a positive feedback loop wherein the crew feel recognized for their work, leading to increase in productivity. Recognition can be a big motivator for all of us to keep striving to achieve one common goal, that safety comes first.
Accidents can be predicted by near misses, We can think of them as red flags; their occurrence indicates the probable presence that something is wrong and requires immediate attention. Therefore, we should investigate the incident as we would a real accident: Find out if it was the result of an unsafe condition or an unsafe behavior, which procedures were followed or breached. By a thorough investigation of the near miss, we may find ways to eliminate the safety hazard, either by heightening awareness of workplace risks, or even establishing a new procedure.
It is always best to report every incident, as the management needs to be aware of any hazard. Provide all the facts—when, where, why, how and who—and provide an analysis of the situation. This should create an opportunity for training. Conduct a safety meeting after a near miss incident to discuss any safety issues and to encourage and assure all crew members that this is not a blame-seeking report but instead a report that can prevent accidents, and save lives.
Captain Oliver Tongol
This recognition keeps our momentum going in reporting near misses, contributing with information on how to reduce and avoid accident on board.
Reporting near misses helps create a culture determined to point out and control hazards, and reduce risks and potential harm to person and properties. It is best to keep an open dialogue and make it easy for the crew to come to you with health and safety concerns. This will enable them to report hazards right away and identify potential areas of concern you may not have noticed.
Second Engineer Jomenick Lanzar
I am honored that Bow Oceanic is recognized, and inspired to continue the safety culture we have established on board by reporting more near misses in the future.
Near miss reporting helps create a culture that seeks to identify and control hazards, thereby reducing risks and the potential for harm. It is vitally important to preventing serious incidents that are less frequent but far more harmful than other incidents by comparing previous and current reports.
The best practice I can share would be to make near miss reporting a safety culture practice on board. It is best to keep it simple for easy understanding, and encourage fellow crewmembers to participate or contribute in reporting since everyone has the authority to stop unsafe practices. This way, every crew onboard will be involved, and feel that thoughts, most especially regarding safety, matter to the management.
Second Officer Francis James Montinola
I feel happy and proud that Bow Oceanic is recognized. As one of the deck crew, I do my part to identify near misses on board during our day-to-day job on deck and report them to my superior.
It is important to report near misses so that we can identify the common and uncommon hazards that arise every time we don’t follow the proper procedure when doing our daily job on board. And also, for the whole fleet may recognize that our safety culture is being observed here on board Bow Oceanic.
For me, the best practice is to adhere to the safety standards that the company has set by wearing PPEs properly and following the company procedures, with the guidance of my superiors. And making sure that these are applied on our day-to-day work.
Able Seaman Aurone Paul Glorioso
