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Prioritising crew safety with proper casualty investigations – an interview with Alfonso Castillero of the Liberian Registry

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While it would be premature to call it a trend, the recent few incidences of vessel seizures have caught the world’s attention. But has the attention been riveted on the correct matter?

According to Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR) chief operating officer Alfonso Castillero, the international community has started exploring what has gone wrong with those incidences and how they can sit down together to implement a procedure to deal with those issues.

In an exclusive interview with Seatrade Maritime News, Castillero points out that while there are political sensitivity and commercial interest at play in vessel seizure incidences, the priority amid all those is to ensure the safety of the crew.

“My main concern, besides safety and freedom of navigation, is the crew. We need to separate the commercial and political interests as far as possible away from the human beings onboard the vessels,” he says.

He adds that flag states should have a body of well-trained casualty investigators capable of making practical suggestions to the IMO. Unfortunately, however, many flag states do not like to invest in those investigations because they are costly.

Watch the video and hear more details about Castillero’s views on safety at sea, regulations and casualty investigation.