Casualty & Navigation Analysis
Relevant to: Law Firms · P&I Clubs · Insurers · Shipowners · Charterers
Independent operational analysis of collisions, groundings, contacts and pilotage incidents, read from the perspective of those who have stood the watch.
OMRA examines navigation, bridge-team management and passage planning against the recorded evidence to establish operational causation.
Overview
Navigation casualties are rarely explained by a single cause. Collisions, groundings and contacts usually reflect a sequence of decisions, watchkeeping practices and bridge-resource factors.
OMRA provides an independent operational analysis of these incidents, applying command experience and the COLREGs to the recorded evidence in order to establish defensible operational causation.
Typical Matters Covered
- Collision causation and COLREGs application
- Grounding, contact and pilotage incidents
- Bridge team and resource management
- Passage planning and ECDIS use
- Watchkeeping and lookout practice
- Navigation casualty operational causation
When OMRA May Be Engaged
A law firm, P&I club, insurer, owner or charterer may seek independent operational analysis when:
- A collision, grounding or contact must be analysed
- Responsibility for a navigation casualty is contested
- Bridge-team decisions and watchkeeping are in question
- VDR, ECDIS and navigation records must be interpreted
- Operational support is required for investigation or proceedings
Scope of Review
Depending on the agreed scope, the review may examine:
- VDR data and ECDIS records
- Passage plan and navigational charts
- Deck logbooks and bell books
- Bridge team composition and watch arrangements
- Pilotage and VTS communications
- Weather, tidal and environmental conditions
Potential Deliverables
Depending on the agreed scope, this may include the outputs below. The precise deliverables always depend on the agreed instruction.
- Independent technical assessment
- Operational chronology
- Navigation causation analysis
- Advisory memorandum
- Expert-support report
- Recommendations
Engagement Boundaries
OMRA provides independent operational and technical advisory support. It does not provide legal advice and does not act as a substitute for the parties' legal advisers, insurers or appointed experts.
Every instruction is subject to prior conflict clearance, availability, scope confirmation and written terms of engagement. OMRA may decline an instruction where it conflicts with existing professional, contractual or confidentiality obligations.