October 2024: Emergency Contacts
Background
In several incidents on charter vessels, there were delays in notifying passengers’ emergency contacts or next of kin after serious injury or death.
Maritime NZ investigations found that in many cases operators did not:
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have a pre‑charter process to check relevant health conditions of passengers and crew
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keep a complete record of all passengers on each trip
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hold emergency‑contact details at the charter operator’s shore‑based office.
In one high‑profile case, passengers were killed when a charter vessel was hit by a large wave. Friends of one victim’s family heard about the accident in the media and contacted the family before Police could advise them. This was extremely distressing for the family.
The family asked that their experience be shared to encourage operators to:
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record emergency‑contact details for passengers at their shore‑based office
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make sure these details are available to Police and other emergency services in the event of a tragedy.
Reminder about legal duties
Charter‑vessel operators have a primary duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of workers and other people, including passengers, is not put at risk by the work they do.
Recommended good practice for emergency contacts
Operators should:
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record the names and contact details of all passengers and workers on each charter, including emergency‑contact details that can be shared quickly with emergency services if there is an injury or death
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keep a shore‑based copy of passenger and worker information, so it is available if the vessel sinks, capsizes or documents on board cannot be accessed
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ensure skippers hold a current first‑aid certificate
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make sure skippers know about any relevant health conditions of passengers and workers, including:
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any medications they may need in an emergency
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where those medications are kept while on the charter.