The hidden risk in shipping is not technical - it is leadership blind spots

Irene Rosberg, of Blue MBA and of The Blue Board Leadership Programme at The Copenhagen Business School, argues that leaders across the marine sector need to step up if they do not want to fail their companies and people

Shipping has always known how to deal with visible risk. A machinery failure can be investigated; a regulatory breach can be corrected; a cyber incident can be contained; a damaged vessel can be repaired and even complex operational problems usually leave evidence, data and a trail of decisions that can be reviewed. The more serious danger today is less obvious. It sits beneath the surface of many organisations, shaping decisions long before those decisions become visible in performance, safety, reputation or financial results. It is the risk created when leaders do not see what they need to see, do not question what they should question and do not recognise how quickly the world around them has changed.