Ship Casualty / Incident Investigations

Reporting of Incidents

Owners and Masters of Singapore-registered ships must report marine casualties and incidents to the Director of Marine.

The general principle in any incident is that urgent steps on the ground must first be taken to prevent further deterioration of the situation. Once this is ensured, the Owner, Manager or Master of the affected Singapore-registered ship should alert MPA of the incident immediately or at the latest, within 2 hours. This initial reporting can take place before completing the detailed incident report, either in writing via email to the following addresses: shipping@mpa.gov.sg, marine@mpa.gov.sg and mmo@mpa.gov.sg; or verbally over the phone via the SRS Hotline at +65 62255777 (6-CALL-SRS). The MPA Report of a Marine Casualty or Marine Incident should then be submitted within 24 hours of the occurrence.

Marine Safety Investigation – Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB), Ministry of Transport

TSIB carries out marine safety investigations in accordance with the Code of International Standards and Recommended Practices for a Safety Investigation into a marine casualty or incident of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). These investigations does not seek to apportion blame or determine liability, but with the intent to analyse the root cause of a marine incident, draw and provide the lessons learnt to prevent recurrences of similar incidents.

Ship Investigation Department – Shipping Division (MPA)

The Ship Investigation Department conducts inquiries on marine casualties and incidents under the Merchant Shipping Act (Chapter 179). The inquiries seek to determine the cause of the casualty or incident, including any infringements of the provisions under the Merchant Shipping Act.

Sharing of Lessons Learnt

MPA shares significant lessons learnt from investigation outcomes via:

Singapore Registry of Ships
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