Responsibility Sharing Management (RSM) of Ship Safety

摘要

The paper presents a new approach for treating ship safety entitled Responsibility Sharing Management (RSM). The text begins by outlining the importance of safety in maritime activities and in the context of meeting a specific goal. The prescriptive regulatory approach is described by detailing its emphasis, merits and drawbacks. Special attention is given to the main weaknesses associated with the devolvement of responsibility and the absence of a management system. Next, a brief outline of the goal-setting approach, based on application of the safety case concept, is given together with its use, merits and drawbacks. On the basis of this review and lessons learnt, a set of desired safety features for a ship is presented. The principle of the RSM approach is then explained and its key features are examined. To demonstrate how the RSM approach can be used effectively to improve safety standards in marine activities two examples are used. The main conclusion is that this balanced and flexible RSM approach incorporates a robust management system and provides scope for collaboration by all stakeholders while blending novel features with the strengths of the existing approaches.