Safety Officer's Logbook: 2026 [paper]

Safety Officer’s Logbook 1st edition 2026

It provides a systematic record of safety inspections, accident and incident investigations, safety committee activities, corrective actions, and safety statistics maintained by the ship’s Safety Officer. It is produced in accordance with the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (COSWP), Chapter 13, the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006), Title 4, Regulation 4.3 (Health and Safety Protection and Accident Prevention).

This logbook is designed for use on seagoing ships worldwide. It is aligned with the ISM Code and MLC 2006 (Standard A4.3) and is optimised for UK-flag vessels by referencing COSWP.

Systematic use of this Safety Officer’s Logbook enables the Safety Officer, Master, and company to:

• Demonstrate compliance with COSWP Chapter 13 by maintaining a complete record of safety inspections, investigations, representations, and corrective actions.
• Satisfy the MLC 2006, Standard A4.3 requirements for regularly conducted inspections, investigations and reporting of onboard accidents and documentation of the effectiveness of health and safety programmes.
• Provide an auditable trail for ISM and MLC auditors linking safety committee activities, inspection findings, incident investigations, and corrective actions through to verification of completion.
• Provide contemporaneous, signed records of accident and incident investigations, including witness statements, evidence inventories, root cause analysis, and corrective actions, for use in regulatory reporting, marine casualty investigation, and legal or insurance proceedings.

This logbook is produced in accordance with:

• Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 – Title 4, Regulation 4.3 and Standard A4.3, ‘Health and safety protection and accident prevention’.
• International Safety Management (ISM) Code – Sections 1.2, 1.4 and 11 on documentation.
• Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (COSWP), 2025 – Chapter 13, ‘Safety officials’

9781918144420, Safety Officer’s Logbook, 1st edition 2026