It is the designated person’s job to help implement the vessel’s safety management system.
The designated person should be contactable by all crew working on the vessel and should be able to act on legitimate concerns. They do not need to be contactable 24/7, only as appropriate for the type of operation.
To do this effectively, the designated person needs to have direct access to the highest levels of shore-based management and should be able to ensure adequate resources and shore-based support can be provided to the vessel.
There is no set rule about who can hold the position of designated person and it will depend on the size of an operation, and what tasks it carries out.
For a small owner/operator set up, the owner may also be the master and designated person.
For a larger company with a fleet of vessels, the designated person should generally be a shore-based person who can oversee the implementation of the safety management system on all the vessels in the fleet. This could be someone like an Operations Manager or similar.
For companies with very large fleets, there could be more than one designated person. If this is the case, the designated person functions should be aligned so the safety management system is implemented consistently across the fleet.
The designated person role should not be delegated to people who do not have a continuous overview of vessel operations – for example, casual masters should not be expected to fulfil designated person functions.
The designated person needs to be able to make sure the safety management system is effective on the vessel.
They need to have a good understanding of the content and purpose of the safety management system. They need to be able to provide advice and guidance on the safety management system policies and procedures to other people in the organisation, including masters and vessel crews. They need to be able to maintain oversight of how the safety management system is working on the vessel and ensure that it is kept up to date.
In larger organisations, the designated person needs to be able to access the highest levels of management to raise safety issues onboard the vessel.
A common misconception is that the designated person is simply an emergency contact. Often the person who performs the role of designated person may also be the emergency contact point within a company – this is common as the two functions complement each other – but they are different roles.
The designated person is not there to address every concern on a vessel. There should be processes in place to ensure safety issues can be raised and addressed on board a vessel, which may then be reported to the designated person. However, the designated person must be able to act on safety issues when other processes have not been effective.
The designated person does not overrule the master on the vessel. The master retains the responsibility and authority to ensure the vessel operates safely, while the designated person can provide support to help the master do this.
The simple answer is yes. However, you don’t want to bombard your SMS/crew with lots of numbers for different people, as it can get messy and confusing.
We recommend having one designated person and one alternative designed person for every vessel.
This role is just as important – if the Designated Person is ever uncontactable for whatever reason, the Alternative Designated Person MUST be ready, knowledgeable and educated on all of the above.
As you can see, the role of Designated Person is one which should be taken very seriously and ensuring you have the right person for the job is critical.
Who’s your Designated Person?
Nominating a person/s to monitor vessel safety is mandatory for your Safety Management System. We therefore recommend that you relook at your SMS and ensure it is updated with the latest information for your Designated Person/s.
If not, please contact our office today for immediate rectification.
Our tip is two is better than one! Having an alternative designated person provides peace of mind and assurance that guidance can be provided, safety issues can be addressed and support for your Master at all times. Contact us today if your SMS requires updating!
