Crowdfunding for safety
Maritime Accident Casebook, the online safety resource for seafarers, has launched its second crowdfunding initiative to produce its next video casestudy, ‘The Case of the Incurious Navigators’. Based on the grounding of the ‘Ovit’ on the Varne bank, and looks at ECDIS issues, a common element in such incidents.
When completed, the video will be available free of charge and can be copied and distributed at no cost. Currently Maritime Accident Casebook offers a video case study on lifeboat safety, ‘The Case of the Fall From Grace’, and some 40 audio podcasts with transcripts on its website.
Maritime Accident Casebook Administrator Bob Couttie said: “The crowdfunder brings together the fact that the best people to spread a safety message are the seafarers themselves and case studies are an effective way of packaging that message. It effectively gives the seafarer ownership of the message and encourages them to spread it around – especially if they’ve donated to the initiative and have their names in the credits.”
While crowdfunding safety videos is a new concept in the maritime industry Couttie believes it makes financial sense for shipowners and P&I clubs to support it: “Producing a professional-quality video is expensive and even buying in videos and making them available onboard ship can be costly. And for P&I clubs one only has to consider that ship grounding is the top cause of loss by value, 50% of all marine insurance claims in excess of €1m, so even if the video makes a modest impact a donation will be repaid many times.”
Maritime Accident Casebook has been providing free case- study based safety information since 2006.
By Jake Frith
