Good shipboard record keeping a must

All ships are required to maintain proper operational records in accordance with International Maritime Organization, flag and port state requirements. David Nichol, of the UK P&I Club, examines how this essential aspect of shipboard activity has evolved in recent years.

In the early 1980s, I was serving as second officer on a loaded general cargo ship that experienced a collision with a large bulk carrier while departing from the locks at Antwerp. From the vantage point of the aft mooring station, I witnessed the destruction of the port side bridge wing and lifeboat davits of my ship as well as a hazardous loss of manoeuvrability caused by damage to the bridge control unit. Fortunately, there were no injuries and after a brief assessment of damage and restoration of the bridge control system the ship was permitted by the port authorities to continue to the next port of call in the UK.