Posted on: 16 July 2020
Maritime London has hosted the ’Utilisation of data when assessing marine casualties’ webinar, the ninth in the series, on July 16. This live and interactive webinar, organised in partnership with Solis Marine Consultants, discussed how the use of digital data can provide the rapid modelling of events leading up to marine claims, the availability and limitations of data in the marine environment, and the use of data to challenge statements and other imprecise evidence.
The webinar was opened by Maritime London Chief Executive Jos Standerwick, who moderated the discussion. “The utilisation of data in the maritime sector is a very pertinent subject, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he observed in his introduction.
Tim Howse, Vice President, Industry Liaison, Gard (UK) said: “Data is an increasing part of our daily lives, representing information which can help us make the right decisions. Data helps Gard manage our portfolio and our business in a more agile way. Along with traditional methods of investigation, reconstruction of casualties using available data is very much a part of this, and in the longer term, it should contribute to sustainable maritime development.”
Ron Clark, Admiralty Manager, Reed Smith LLP in Hong Kong elaborated the point of “assisting with early settlement”, discussing the changes to CPR providing for early disclosure and inspection of electronic data, as well as “different interpretations of data”.
Richard Meikle, Partner, Master Mariner at Solis Marine Consultants commented: “Marine investigations are increasingly reliant on the availability of independent, cogent, contemporaneous data to unravel events leading up to incidents. Clear and impartial data based analysis, as provided by Solis Marine’s Rapid Replay constructions, contributes significantly to a greater understanding of the causes of marine casualties. A greater focus on data is helping to take us in a positive direction.
“The webinar helped reinforce the position that the use of data is now an established part of the analysis of most maritime incidents. It is complementary to the evidence gathered by surveyors and lawyers when attending a casualty rather than being a replacement and should be seen as a tool to help provide a clearer picture rather than one that replaces all other evidence.”
Duncan Campbell, AIS & VDR Analyst, Solis Marine Consultants added: “At Solis Marine we are constantly developing our skills in interpreting, condensing and visualising the ever growing amount of digital data that is available following an incident. It is important that this is done as transparently as possible so every step from the original data to the final presentation of data can be tracked and traced.”
The webinar is available to view here.
