Auditing in the maritime industry: A case study of the offshore support vessel segment.

摘要

This article studies the audit and inspection regimes for offshore support vessels (OSV) operating in the North Sea. The changes in regulatory style introduced by the International Safety Management (ISM) Code shifted the maritime transportation industry towards enforced self-regulation, but maritime safety has remained a concern. This article employs a qualitative research approach in studying the OSV segment operating out of Norway. Eighteen semi-structured interviews with industry members were conducted, supplemented by document studies. The study examines to what extent today’s audit regimes are perceived to be adequate and how the companies operating OSVs respond to being audited. Although the interviewees feel that audits are necessary and play an important role in safety management, the audit practices identified show limitations as regards the scope of audits, which focus mainly on document control and the bridge department, rarely addressing the quality of the content in safety management systems (SMS). Many companies adopt compliance-seeking strategies such as brush-up and quick fixes. The study shows that considerable attention is paid to maintaining documentable audit trails, but with no assessment of the maritime operations. Contradictory to what is expected from a self-regulated industry, companies are found to adjust their SMS to fit with auditing standards. This undermines the concept that the companies themselves are the best to determine their own SMS’ structure and content.