CHIRP
CHIRP Confidencial Hazerdous Incident Reporting
Ever been involved in a close call when onboard or when at Sea?
Over the years I have been involved in several and have seen many more, from vessels that do not seem to know or to understand the Colregs to officers and Crew working in dangerous and possible life-threatening ways.
It can be very difficult to know how to deal with these situations. There is little in the way of a Police force to call upon. The powerboat racing through the moorings for instance, you have no power, no way of educating the master of that vessel.
One of my most shocking revelations was on a Cross Channel Ferry many years ago. In thick fog, it became clear that the Ferry was not sounding its fog signal (one long every 2 Minutes) but was proceeding at speed through the busy waters of the English Channel. A chat with the Purser revealed that the Captain had stated that use of the Fog Horn was "At the Captains Discretion" (not true, but "hey ho") and that he did not wish to disturb his sleeping guests.
I filled in a report to CHIRP and the problems was resolved with the Ferry Company engaging in a program of education and enlightenment.
Below is a link to the CHIRP report Form and a separate link to the CHIRP digest, here you may read the reports, some are really interesting.
The UK Confidential Hazardous Incident Reporting Programme, more commonly known by the acronym CHIRP, has been operating in aviation since 1982. CHIRP was established in its present form, as a charitable company limited by guarantee, on 1 November 1996. This corporate structure was selected in order to provide a totally independent organisation, with management and fiscal responsibilities held by an independent Board of Trustees.
The Maritime Programme started in 2003, originally receiving UK Government funding, it is now funded by sponsorships from The Corporation of Trinity House, The Lloyds Register Foundation, Britannia P & I Club, International Foundation to Aids to Navigation, Seafarers UK, UK P & I, TK Foundation and Cammell Laird.
CHIRP Maritime Ambassadors
Simon Bradshaw appointed as Ambassador
Simon has today been appointed as an ambassador for these organisations. This role will involve Simon in the development of awareness of the reporting procedures at a grass roots level, delivering presentations at a club level and sea school level.
Ambassador’s Mission:
Improve the safety of individuals employed within or associated with maritime operations;
Promote the submission of hazardous occurrence and incidents reports;
Provide guidance on additional sources of relevant material, and
Share information derived from past hazardous occurrence and incidents reports.
Ambassadors Tasks:
Report to and to be guided by the CHIRP Director (Maritime) / MARS Editor as appropriate;
Presentation and training material is provided by the CHIRP Director (Maritime) / MARS Editor as appropriate;
Provide guidance to reporters, however, Ambassadors are not expected to complete hazardous occurrence or incident reports (these are expected to be submitted by the reporter to CHIRP or MARS as appropriate), and
Encourage companies and organisations to submit data to CHIRP / MARS on safety statistics and trends.
Tips for Exams
June 10, 2025
Plan, Plan and then plan again.
To all intents and purposes, YachtMaster Offshore (or YM Coastal) is a Pilotage examination. The entire examination takes place on soundings (meaning that you are in coastal waters). No matter where you are taking your exam, ensure that you are familiar with those waters and those ports.
1, Prepare secondary port calculations for every port you might use
2, Prepare pilotage plans for each harbour, Day and Night
3, Work out the tidal hour for each and every hour of the exam period.
4, have a couple of live weather forecasts, be certain that you understand them and that you can explain them to the examiner
5, Know your ColRegs, know these well, Lights, Shapes, Meanings. Can you tell the length of the vessel from it's lights?
6, Make sure that your Passage Plan consits of the four (4) required sections (Appraisal, Plan, Execution and Monitoring). Check our shop for a free Sample Passage Plan
7, Be in Command
8, Remember that this is an examination, this is not the time for experimental navigation or boat handling techniques
9,Be organised, be smart, be on time!
10, Be cool, The exam will include an assessment of your skippering skills, boat handling, general seamanship, navigation, safety awareness and knowledge of the IRPCS, meteorology and signals.
Ocean Instruction / Astro Training Instructor Spotlight
February 4, 2025
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New Course Schedule Announced
August 20, 2025
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