BlueWise Marine was engaged by the Coastal and Marine Resources (CMR) Core Lab at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to develop a Safety Management System (SMS) for their current research vessel (RV), the RV Thuwal, adaptable to the upcoming new vessel, RV Thuwal II. This work was embedded in an overall Health and Safety framework improvement at university level.
The work developed by BlueWise Marine between October 2023 and March 2024, in collaboration with a team at KAUST-CMR, consisted of an initial gap analysis, during which a survey of the existing vessel-related Health and Safety procedures, both onshore and onboard, was carried out, followed by the preparation of a plan to develop the SMS in accordance with the relevant international codes, such as ISM, SOLAS and other applicable maritime standards.
In the last phase of the work, the team of Health and Safety and Marine Operations experts at BlueWise Marine carried out the SMS development plan, producing a total of 4 policies, 29 vessel procedures, 14 shore-side procedures, 22 vessel forms and checklists, and 18 shore-side forms and checklists. The work concluded with the development of a Shore Emergency Response Manual and a Vessel Emergency Response Plan (Manual, procedures and checklists).
Towards the end of the project, a team of BlueWise Marine experts visited KAUST-CMR to present the work done and fine tune it to the conditions of the RV Thuwal, with on-site inspections of the vessel and local procedures. This visit was also an opportunity for knowledge transfer to CMR’s team.
The successful conclusion of this project, to the full satisfaction of KAUST-CMR, demonstrates BlueWise Marine’s capacity to develop excellent work in Research Vessel safety management to international standards. The Safety Management System (SMS) developed in the project is adaptable to new research vessel build, expected to be delivered in the coming years.
