MPV Everest's safety management system (SMS) was neither sufficiently mature for its operations nor had it been implemented effectively or consistently on board the ship at the time of the fire. Further, safety oversight by Fox Offshore, the ship’s managers, had not been effective in monitoring and ensuring compliance with the SMS.
The safety action taken by Maritime Construction Services and the ship’s new managers (Northern Marine Ship Management) should adequately address this safety issue as the actions are directed at aspects of the ship’s management and operations relevant to the risks identified by the ATSB.
On 31 August 2023, Maritime Construction Services (MCS) advised the ATSB that following the fire, it commissioned an independent third-party investigation. Subsequently, Fox Offshore was relieved of its responsibilities as the ship’s managers and MCS temporarily took over management of the ship as an interim measure.
In February 2023, MCS appointed Northern Marine Ship Management (Northern Marine) as MPV Everest’s new managers with a view to improving the safety culture on board. MCS advised that the Northern Marine safety management system (SMS) was mature and appropriately supplemented by ship-specific procedures with a dedicated technical superintendent appointed to support the ship and regular meetings scheduled between shore and ship to proactively manage emerging shipboard issues. Additionally, when a new ship is introduced to the Northern Marine fleet, a fleet safety specialist physically attends the ship to ensure that the crew is fully familiarised with the SMS before it proceeds to sea.
In preparing for future projects, greater emphasis was to be placed on enhancing the effectiveness of gap analyses, increasing reliance on the use of third-party expertise to ensure ship readiness. Improved crew selection and redundancy processes were also adopted based on the principle that the risk exposure resulting from an entirely new crew was not acceptable. In addition, MCS advised that in the event of the ship’s trading area changing (for example, to polar waters), a full change management process would be triggered to identify potential gaps in procedures, manning and equipment that need to be addressed. The change management process tools would be used to ensure that effective control measures and gap analyses were conducted, with relevant third-party expertise (including polar expertise) engaged as required.
The ATSB had also provided Fox Offshore a copy of the draft report to allow it the opportunity to review the report and make submissions, but received no response from Fox Offshore.
