The regulations covering the conduct of a safety investigation are perhaps those which undergo the most change with new regulations created, existing regulations combined, and greater clarity sought throughout. A new regulation will reflect modern standards and will clarify the duties of both the Chief Inspector and the ship owner regarding the return/disposal of evidence relating to an accident. Regulations will be amended to protect the information in documents from disclosure, rather than just the documents themselves. The intention is to encourage disclosure by protecting correspondence between parties and an inspector. In a similar vein Independent Technical Analyses will also be added to the list of materials not to be disclosed unless approved by the Chief Inspector. In addition, information provided by other Nation States cannot be disclosed without said State’s approval.

There has been some evidence that witnesses have been pressured to provide statements which can be used for activity beyond the scope of the MAIB, namely to determine liability. To prevent this the rules will be changed to limit releasing witness statements to third parties to better acknowledge the spirt of confidentiality which underpins safety investigations.

The new regulations also seek to clarify those investigative materials which can be shared with other authorities. These are: physical evidence, data from recording systems, images of the scene, and independent technical analysis. It is worth noting that such information can only be shared with other statutory authorities and such sharing is at the discretion of the Chief Inspector.

Operational experience has resulted in several proposed changes to match time obligations on Chief Inspectors to the IMO Code, clarifying an Inspector’s ability to publish urgent notifications to assist investigations and removing simplified reports as a separate category. There will also be greater clarity on the limitations of disclosure for those other than the Chief Inspector.

The regulations on the publication of MAIB reports will also be changed with the entirety of any report which utilised an inspector’s powers deemed inadmissible in any judicial proceeding unless determined otherwise by the Court. The Chief Inspector will however now be able to share safety lessons outside of existing reposts or investigations.