New App Improves Safety of Vessel Inspections

New Vessel Inspection App facilitates safer vessel inspections and improves collaboration between APM Terminals and shipping lines during port calls.

Learning from previous incidents, compiling inspection reports and escalating defects is of crucial importance for the Operations teams at APM Terminals. To facilitate this, while focusing on user experience and enabling faster and easier exchange of information, APM Terminals and Maersk jointly developed a Vessel Inspection App, taking a further step towards having a closer collaboration on safety standards.

Designing a mobile app with the user in mind means that terminal staff can now conduct vessel inspections using their mobile devices to record critical safety defects, share photos and escalate issues for repair. Once the inspection is complete, the user can download the PDF report and share it with the shipping line or its agent and vessel directly. This new process means that one set of simplified questions is used for all vessel inspections, which creates a standardised way of working across all terminals globally.

Ruth Gallagher, Global Head of HSE (Health, Safety & Environment) for A.P. Moller - Maersk explains: "Across APM Terminals, we deploy thousands of people every day to carry out lashing operations on a wide variety of vessels. These people are subject to risks associated with both the operations they undertake, but also with the environment they work in. APM Terminals and Maersk have worked tirelessly throughout 2020 to improve vessel operations and we are proud to be launching this vessel inspection solution that brings people together to solve immediate problems."

The deployment of new technology allows both port and vessel operators to have visibility of any environmental issue that could impact the safety of people or the effectiveness of operations both in the moment and in advance of arrival. 

“Having an additional objective feedback on the condition of the vessels’ cargo area from these inspections is a useful assurance that enables us to better evaluate the risks of our operations and to focus on ensuring a safe work environment for everyone working onboard vessels”, adds Gallagher.

In the future, the new tool will allow other shipping lines and terminal operators to join and create a truly global community, working together to eliminate fatal and life-changing events associated with vessel alongside operations.