As one of the largest fleets in the world, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry is in a unique position to not only support the safe vessel operation of its fleet, but also to enhance the safety of the entire industry thanks to its investigations team, International Registries, Inc., which provides administrative and technical support to the RMI Registry, supports the RMI Maritime Administrator’s (the “Administrator’s”) formal and comprehensive review of marine casualties, marine incidents, offenses, or occurrences as governed by legislation and regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and RMI.
“The Administrator’s investigations have one goal – to get to the heart of why something happened. We look at the circumstances of the situation and causal factors to determine what went wrong,” said Hans Molver, Senior Vice President, Investigations, IRI. “The Administrator is not looking to assign responsibility; it is looking to determine what happened and hopefully make recommendations to prevent it from happening again,” he continued.
Molver, a marine engineer by education who originally hails from Norway, joined the maritime industry in 1973, sailing first for cruise lines before moving into compliance and oversight roles. Molver joined IRI in 2008 as Vice President, Technical. His 15 years with the Registry and decades of experience at sea in compliance roles provide him with dual knowledge of both how a vessel operates technically and an understanding of the challenges facing crew at sea.
Incidents that trigger an investigation are reported to the Administrator directly from the vessel owner or operator and are tracked through the Investigations Status board managed by IRI’s Administrative Assistant Dee Dee Madison. Marine Investigations Manager Alan Blume (Reston) and Marine Investigator Tom Jenkins (Long Beach) assess each report and determine the scope of the investigation before beginning the process of gathering the information needed for the investigation.
“Each investigation is unique,” noted Blume, who joined IRI in 2007. He continued,
The Administrator conducts interviews, gathers logs, data, reports, etc. Sometimes the Administrator puts boots on deck to make physical reviews and inspections, other investigations require witness interviews or logs from other vessels. The Administrator often works with supporting organizations such as Classification Societies and port authorities to gather additional information.
Like Molver, both Blume and Jenkins have extensive technical and operational experience at sea and in compliance roles. Blume spent 20 years with United States Coast Guard (USCG) conducting and overseeing a number of compliance projects. Jenkins, who is originally from the United Kingdom, sailed with the Royal Navy as a Master before moving to a technical, operations, and investigations role for a Caribbean maritime authority.
Data, trends, and recommendations gathered from investigations are reported and may result in Marine Safety Advisories (MSAs) being issued by the Administrator. In 2020, the Administrator began publishing an Investigations Annual Report with trend data and recommendations to enhance safe vessel operations beyond the RMI fleet. Reports of very serious marine casualty investigations are also published online.
“The RMI has one of the largest fleets in the world; there is a wide cross-section of vessels and situations in the Administrator’s investigations,” said Molver. “The Administrator has seen that sharing information learned in investigations can reduce the number of incidents or occurrences. RMI owners and operators have also used this information to increase awareness and enhance crew training,” he continued.
Governed by the Code of International Standards and Recommended Practices for a Safety Investigation into a Marine Casualty or Marine Incident (the “Code”) under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the Administrator’s investigations are not intended to apportion blame or determine liability. As required by the Code, the investigations are impartially conducted in an objective manner.
“Our ultimate goal as a flag State is to protect the safety of life and property, looking at an incident or occurrence from 360 degrees to determine what happened and if and how similar situations can be avoided in the future,” Molver concluded.
