MARITIME PERSONNEL’S SAFETY ATTITUDES LAPPALAINEN, Jouni; Researcher

Human errors are considered the most important reason for maritime accidents. The international safety management code (the ISM Code) has been established to clarify the responsibilities of safety on vessels and to cut down the occurrence of human errors by creating a safety-oriented organizational culture for the maritime industry. The ISM Code came into operation in worldwide shipping in 1998. The purpose of this study is to recognize whether the safety culture has improved due to the ISM Code and evaluate the impacts of the ISM Code on maritime safety in Finland. The ISM Code provides the indicators for recognizing whether the safety culture exists in the maritime industry. These indicators are: • an established and actively working process of continuous improvement • commitment from the top management of the company • motivated and encouraged personnel onboard to actively initiate safety improvements (personnel empowerment) The research project consists of literature study and in-depth interviews which wer