Chemical and product tanker operator, Ardmore Shipping which developed a ‘Safety Rating’ app for their crew, was announced as a winner at the 2022 Maritime and Port Authority Singapore (MPA) International Safety@Sea Awards.

The app launched in late 2020 by the company which has it principal operating office in Cork, had went through a process of implementation, crew familiarization, and participation throughout 2021. The app allows crew members to build and maintain a ranking of their safety competency, which can be transferred as they transfer between vessels across the Ardmore fleet. Afloat adds the fleet comprises of 16 tankers, each just shy of 50,000dwt and an average age of just six years and the majority of the fleet are dual chemical/product tankers.

Crew members onboard the fleet use the app program to anonymously assign safety ratings to their crew mates – on a scale of 1 to 5 – against a list of soft skills and behavioral competencies, as well as areas of safety awareness. This includes elements such as safety initiatives, leadership, Personal Protective Equipment usage, teamwork capabilities, assistance of fellow team members, and level of participation in safety meetings/drills.

The core objective of this initiative is, over a period of time, to have every seafarer on the Ardmore team develop an individual rating. These ratings will ‘follow’ each seafarer throughout their employment as an Ardmore crew member, incentivizing individuals to maintain a high safety standard throughout their careers and enable Ardmore to respond to gaps with further training and support both onboard and on shore.

The Safety@Sea award was accepted by Ardmore’s Singapore General Manager and Head of Commercial, Gerald Tan on behalf of the apps creator Abhijit Ghosh, Ardmore’s Marine Manager.

Abhijit said: “It’s fantastic to have the success of this initiative recognized by the MPA. We look forward to further developing and implementing the system, with the overall aim of achieving zero accidents and injuries onboard our vessels. The human element is of utmost importance to Ardmore, and we hope that programs like these will further increase safety awareness among our crew.”

Ardmore commenced operations in 2010 and the operator has since grown in the ownership and operation of product and chemical tankers in worldwide trading. In addition to Cork, they have offices located in the USA, Bermuda, Singapore and Hong Kong.