23/07/2026
We are pleased to have participated in the Shell Maritime Partners in Safety webinar earlier this month, which brought together more than 850 participants from across the industry. The panel focused on mooring – one of the highest-risk shipboard operations – and asked a difficult question: are we leaning too heavily on frontline crews as the primary safety barrier?
Capt Lekshmi Salvady, Managing Director of Anglo-Eastern Tanker Management, shared our experience in applying Human & Organisational Performance principles and the practical steps we’ve been taking to move beyond depending solely on crew vigilance.
Serious mooring incidents continue to happen during routine operations involving experienced crews, and industry data underscores the stakes: 858 injuries and 31 fatalities reported over five years, with 95% linked to ropes and wires. Competence, vigilance and the confidence to stop work remain essential, but lasting safety comes from robust systems, sound equipment, thoughtful procedures, planning, leadership and organisational support working together, with people supported by the system rather than left as the last line of defence.
As Lekshmi shared during the panel, enhanced mooring safety is achieved by strengthening organisational defences through maintaining and upgrading hardware, improving procedures and systems, and optimising management practices. That mindset – curiosity over blame, learning over perfection – sits at the heart of Anglo-Eastern's commitment to Human & Organisational Performance and our wider safety culture.
Our sincere thanks to Shell and the Maritime Partners in Safety programme team for convening this important conversation, and to the fellow speakers for sharing their experience and perspectives. We believe that by learning together, challenging the fixed mindset and strengthening our organisational defences, we can continue to build safer mooring operations across the industry.
