PSAP-PAROLA.ORG | Philippine Seafarers Assistance Programme

PETER B. PAYOYO, LLM, PhD
Philippine Seafarers Assistance Programme

The 1990s saw the emergence and development of the concept of “human element” in international shipping. The initial motivation behind the concept was the search for a new explanatory and policy framework for the increased incidence of maritime casualties caused by “human error”.

At the technical and operational levels, the implementation of the concept has led to far-reaching changes in international maritime policy. Revisions to the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (the ISM Code) as well as the STCW-95, for example, are direct offshoots of the human element-discussions at the IMO, which has given a broad definition of the “human element” as “a complex multi-dimensional issue that affects maritime safety, security and marine environmental protection. It involves the entire spectrum of human activities performed by ships’ crews, shore based management, regulatory bodies, recognized organizations, shipyards, legislators, and other relevant parties, all of whom need to cooperate to address human element issues effectively.”

The paper will trace the development of the “human element” policies at the global level and examine the various impacts and ramifications of these policies as experienced directly by Filipino seafarers. The study will use, among other source materials, primary data collected from interviews in the port of Rotterdam.