Maintenance Articles
Routine yet critical; these are the inspections in the robust behemoth, the superyacht. The insatiable purr of efficiency and precision lays out a riveting chronicle featuring a maritime dance, a concert of safety checklists and robust processes, all choreographed with the promise of seamless execution. When every intricate detail seems accounted for, it’s easy to forget the persisting threat of unexpected mayhem. On one fateful occasion, this negligible oversight led to unwelcome consequences.
On this occasion, the Superyacht Maritime Advisory Board, with an unwavering commitment to improving safety in the maritime industry, deployed their first-ever superyacht-specific program in a bid to upgrade the knowledge sharing, anonymous reporting, and analysis aspects of maritime safety.
Grappling with the unknown is a constant challenge for the maritime industry. The most unexpected things might go wrong, often highlighting long-overlooked areas requiring immediate attention. A case study from CHIRP Maritime’s Superyacht Feedback throws light on one such incident where something as elementary as incorrect labelling of antennas resulted in a potential crisis.
The GPS 1 and GPS 2 antennas were wrongly marked on both the bridge plan and the compass deck in the study’s specific case. Such incorrect markings could lead to costly errors, especially if technical issues arise and the crew attempts to resolve them based on the inaccurate plan. While the antennas were installed correctly, mismatches between their actual locations and the schematics posed a substantial risk.