A review of HSSE policies in the maritime industry

• Main Author: Tie, Joyce Hui Ting
• Other Authors: Chiu Sai Hoi, Benson
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Business::Finance
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/158848
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

HSSE policies have been more challenging with increasing regulations and the cost involved in implementing these policies. Despite this, negligence of HSSE policies has led to notable incidents that have triggered international attention in the maritime industry. Therefore, this study is intended to investigate the underlying factors behind the implementation of HSSE policies. From literature review, the drivers to implement HSSE policies are identified as enforcement of regulations, industrial norms, and customer pressure. On the other hand, obstacles challenging the implementation include lack of support from senior management, high cost, and difficulties in measuring environmental policies. We also explored the relevance of the European Green Deal and the requirement of a carbon intensity indicator as part of MARPOL Annex VI regulations. Additional findings through a case study where interviews are conducted have confirmed the relevancy of current academia in identifying the abovementioned factors. Furthermore, the case study highlighted more relevant factors: business strategy, organisational culture, and Industry 4.0 technological advancements. The literature review and the interviews are then converged to determine their significance, where enforcement of regulations in practice has been found to have the most significant disparity in driving environmental policies compared to the literature review. At the same time, characteristics of other factors discovered from the case study complement or confirmed those in the literature review. The report was then followed by recommendations to equip maritime businesses for the future: (1) further research on environmental issues, (2) raising environmental awareness throughout the industry, (3) encourage government support for maritime firms to adopt environmentally friendly business practices, as well as (4) promote closer collaboration between regulatory agencies around the world to prevent the adoption of regulations from impeding companies adopting environmentally friendly practices. This study helps pinpoint how environmental policies can be promoted in an organisation or help pinpoint issues maritime businesses may face that may prevent them from making any headway in implementation. Considering recent trends, the way maritime companies adopt policies may require a relook to equip themselves for the future outlook.