Marine Casualty Investigations and Security

Marine Casualty Investigations

The State Department is responsible for carrying out investigations into marine casualties that take place in Kenyan waters or involve Kenyan registered vessels.

One of the main purpose of the Departments investigations is to establish the cause or causes of a marine casualty with a view to making recommendations to the Cabinet Minister responsible for Shipping for the purposes of avoiding similar marine casualties. It is noted that such investigations should not form the basis of an investigation to attribute blame or fault. The legislative framework for the operation of the Casualty Investigations Department, the reporting and investigating of marine casualties as well as the powers of Department’s investigators, is set out in the Merchant Shipping Act, 2009 and the Merchant shipping (Casualty Investigations & Reporting) Regulations, 2014.

This directorate will also work closely with Kenya Maritime Authority in collaborating with the Kenya Coast Guard Service on enforcement matters. Marine accident reports will be issued in cases of serious accidents and/or when lessons can be learned.

Statistics on accidents at sea will be published on a yearly basis by the Ministry. This knowledge will be used by the shipping and fishing industries as well as the Kenya Maritime Authority in order to guard against accidents. The Department will comprise of six investigators all of whom will have a broad maritime and technical background among others as marine navigators, marine engineers and naval architects.