Malta: notice on accident and incident safety investigations

The Merchant Shipping Directorate of Transport Malta has issued the Merchant Shipping Notice on accident and incident safety investigations.

This notice has been issued on February 9th, 2023, and is addressed to all ship owners, ship operators and managers, masters, owners' representatives, and recognised organisations.

In addition to the reporting obligations in terms of Section 307 of the Merchant Shipping Act, any occurrence happening on board a Maltese ship anywhere in the world and any ship within Maltese waters shall be reported to the Marine Safety Investigation Unit in terms of the Merchant Shipping (Accident and Incident Safety Investigation) Regulations, 2011, Subsidiary Legislation 234.49, published on 12 July 2011.

The requirement to report occurrences applies to merchant and passenger ships, fishing vessels over 15 meters in length, and pleasure vessels engaged in trade.

The investigative procedures are prescribed in the said Regulations and the only purpose of such safety investigations is to identify causes and safety issues, and where possible or necessary, make recommendations with the only scope of improving safety and avoiding marine pollution.

Since the Marine Safety Investigation Unit is legally and structurally separate from the Merchant Shipping Directorate, and is neither an enforcement nor a prosecuting body, it does not have the legal mandate to investigate for the purpose of taking administrative, regulatory, or criminal actions.

It is the responsibility of Masters and ISM Managers of ships operating under the Malta flag to ensure timely reporting of any occurrence.

The cooperation and assistance of all concerned are crucial in safety investigations with a view to ensure that the scope of the safety investigation is achieved and safety lessons are promulgated to the maritime industry.

Reporting Occurrences

Casualties, as defined in the said Regulations, shall be reported to the Marine Safety Investigation Unit at the earliest opportunity and by the quickest means possible.

Accident and incident notification reports should be sent to the following new address:

Head of Marine Safety Investigation
Marine Safety Investigation Unit
Maritime House
Lascaris Wharf
Valletta VLT 1921
Malta
Tel: +356 2166 0369
AOH: +356 7943 4315
Email: msiu.tm@transport.gov.mt

The MSIU Marine Accident and Incident Report – Forms A and B (enclosed) may also be used as a notification report of any occurrence to the Marine Safety Investigation Unit.

Subsidiary Legislation 234.49 can be downloaded from: http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lp&itemid=22376&l=1