Toxic Leadership – Maritime Accident Casebook

Toxic Leader – Toxic Culture: The Death of the Bow Mariner Part 2

Accident, Accident Investigation, Accident report, Toxic Leadership Comments Off

Mar 282017

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The second of our case studies of toxic leadership at sea looks at the sinking of the Bow Mariner. When the firm hierarchy aboard ship meets dysfunctional leadership and cultures with large power gradients the result can be a toxic culture that maximises dangers to the vessel and its crew in a crisis.

We present a transcript with the podcast.

Have you a horror story about dysfunctional leaders aboard or ashore? Tell us in confidence at mac@maritimeaccident.org, we’d like to hear what you have to say – and do share the post with your friends in the industry. Just click the share button.

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Toxic Leader – Toxic Culture: The Death of the Bow Mariner Part 1

Accident, Accident Investigation, Accident report, Toxic Leadership Comments Off

Mar 262017

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The second of our case studies of toxic leadership at sea looks at the sinking of the Bow Mariner. When the firm hierarchy aboard ship meets dysfunctional leadership and cultures with large power gradients the result can be a toxic culture that maximises dangers to the vessel and its crew in a crisis.

We present a transcript with the podcast. The podcast opens with the original desperate emergency call by a junior officer.

Have you a horror story about dysfunctional leaders aboard or ashore? Tell us in confidence at mac@maritimeaccident.org, we’d like to hear what you have to say – and do share the post with your friends in the industry. Just click the share button.

Maria M Grounding – Confusion, Culture and Toxic Leadership

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Mar 222017

Maria M Bridge – bad attitude, poor communications

We are republishing some of our posts on Toxic Masters. Have you a horror story about dysfunctional leaders aboard or ashore? Tell us in confidence at mac@maritimeaccident.org, we’d like to hear what you have to say – and do share the post with your friends in the industry.

Confusion between rate of turn and rudder indicators, cultural insensitivity, the master’s insufficient English, a non-functioning AIS and VTS operators that did not react to the developing situation were key factors in the 12 July 2009 grounding of the Italian-registered chemical tanker Maria M says the Swedish Transport Agency report on the incident.

It was not a good start to the master’s first day in command of the vessel.

Poison Profits: How Toxic Leaders Kill Excellence

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Mar 222017

We’re bringing attention to the issue of toxic leaders in the maritime industry. Splash 24/7 has just published a piece by MAC administrator Bob Couttie discussing how dysfunctional leaders affect a company’s excellence – and that includes ships’ companies as much as corporate companies.

We are republishing some of our posts on Toxic Masters. Have you a horror story about dysfunctional leaders aboard or ashore? Tell us in confidence at mac@maritimeaccident.org, we’d like to hear what you have to say – and do share the post with your friends in the industry.

If you want to know why toxic leaders are like green wallpaper, check out the Splash24/7 article, how many rolls of green wallpaper does your company have? here

Toxic Masters and the Bully On The Bridge

Toxic Leadership 2 Responses »

Mar 202017

We are republishing some of our posts on Toxic Masters. Have you a horror story about dysfunctional leaders aboard or ashore? Tell us in confidence at mac@maritimeaccident.org, we’d like to hear what you have to say – and do share the post with your friends in the industry.

Recently an account from a former master of a close encounter that under other circumstances could have led to a collision sent MAC scrambling to Google to find out what information was available on toxic leadership at sea resulting in an accident. There were precisely five results, out of a potential of 132,000 hits on maritime accidents and of those on the top of the list was MAC’s post on the Maria M incident and the IMO model course on leadership and teamwork. That drilling into the remaining three results produced nothing on maritime accidents and toxic leadership suggests that it is an under-researched area of maritime safety.

A member of MAC’s LinkedIn maritime accident investigation group provided this account of a close call:
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