Let’s be honest: the sea is a harsh place, but people on board are still people. This is where the key part of the PSSR update starts: on top of basic “survival,” it adds a very practical competence — how to prevent and respond to violence, bullying, and sexual harassment (SA-SH). Not “extra paperwork,” but a real part of safety. Fires are stopped by extinguishers. A toxic atmosphere is stopped by people who know how to step in. This update makes PSSR SA-SH training a core safety skill.

Cut the regulatory noise and the message is simple: every seafarer is now part of the system, not a bystander. If you see a problem, you know it’s not “crew jokes,” not “sea humor,” not “he asked for it,” but a breach of boundaries and a safety risk. Being able to spot it, step in on time, and report it correctly is now a mandatory skill for everyone, from cadet to master. Not because “the book demands it,” but because on real ships these cases end with missed watches, injuries, conflicts, resignations, and investigations. And yes, sometimes with accidents.

What changes in practice? First, training becomes specific. Not “sat, listened, signed,” but real cases: what bullying looks like without bruises, where the line is between a joke and humiliation, how rank pressure shows up, and what to do if the person affected is silent while the ship is small and rumors run faster than the internet. Good training always answers three questions: how to recognize, how to stop, and where and how to report. Ideally with role play, because on paper everyone is a hero, and in a narrow corridor on Deck 4 your heart starts beating faster.This is risk control: PSSR SA-SH training turns bystanders into responders. For officers and ratings, PSSR SA-SH training is now routine seamanship.

Second, the culture of intervention changes. Intervention is not a heroic hallway duel and not a sudden sermon at a crew meeting. It is calm, clear, rank-appropriate action: stop the behavior, separate people, record the facts, report by procedure. And do it so no one gets buried under emotions and gossip. The main point: you did not “create a problem” by raising the issue; you contained it before it spilled over.

Third, there is a clear reporting path. Not “told the bosun by the coffee machine,” but a formal channel that protects everyone involved: the person affected, witnesses, and the company. A normal company does not get rid of people who raise hard topics; it gets rid of unhealthy practices. The cleaner the action log, the calmer any external check will be — from flag to insurer.

Myths to throw overboard. “We’re a men’s crew, we’ll sort it out ourselves” usually means “no one will sort anything out until it explodes.” “He’s too sensitive” often ends with sick leave notes and letters from lawyers. “Shore office invented this” — no, it comes from real industry experience: people leaving, broken watches, and disputes that drag on for months. On board, the most expensive things are time and predictability. SA-SH hits both.

The good news: you can implement this competence without a revolution. Update the PSSR course, add clear scenarios and clear “signals to act.” Put a transparent reporting path in the SMS and protection from retaliation. Train officers to talk about hard things in plain language: no moral lectures, but firm lines. And a rule appears that takes root fast: “Everyone on board is safe. Period.” As soon as this rule is on rails, the crew saves nerves, the company saves money, and the ship saves time.

A bit of humor, so we stay human. Someone will ask: “Where’s the list of banned jokes?” The answer is simple: in the same place as the list of banned fires. You don’t need a catalog for every case; you need a culture where the warning light comes on early. If a joke laughs at a person and not with a person, it’s not a joke. If “friendly attention” doesn’t stop at “no,” it’s not friendly. And if a “tradition” explains humiliation, it’s not a tradition, it’s a bad habit.

Bottom line. The updated PSSR brings us back to the core of seamanship: we are responsible for each other. Not for nice posters in the mess and not for extra ticks in a report, but so the ship runs like a clock. The ability to recognize, intervene, and report SA-SH is as basic as knowing how to put on a lifejacket and start the fire pump. The only difference is that here we are putting out not the fire, but the things that often cause it: human error, fear, and silence.

No heroics required. We need knowledge, calm action, and one rule we live by: we don’t abandon our own to bad situations. The rest is procedure.

FAQ:

• What is SA-SH in PSSR?
  Violence, bullying, sexual harassment on board; part of safety because it affects performance and risk.

• How to intervene without escalation?
  Stop the action, keep witnesses, use neutral commands, escalate via C/O or Master per rank.

• How to report in the SMS?
  Use the ship’s reporting path, confidentiality preserved, no retaliation; log time, place, persons, action taken.

 

IMO guidance on PSSR

OJ Safety / Blog