The maritime industry must look beyond revised training content and additional onboard checks if it is serious about stopping enclosed space deaths at sea, according to leading maritime training provider MarinePALS.

The warning follows the IMO’s revised MSC circular on enclosed space entry, which introduces further requirements intended to strengthen safe working practices on board. MarinePALS has updated its enclosed space training programme, including its six-part learning series and CBT module, to reflect the new guidance.

However, the revisions come against a long-running industry challenge. Enclosed space incidents have continued despite decades of regulation, awareness campaigns, permits, drills and mandatory instruction, raising questions about whether additional administrative controls can, on their own, prevent one of shipping’s most persistent causes of avoidable loss of life.

Pradeep Chawla, CEO of MarinePALS, said: “The revised circular is a positive and necessary development, and we have updated our content accordingly. But enclosed space fatalities are still happening despite years of regulation, awareness and training. People already know enclosed spaces are dangerous, so we must ask whether further procedural improvement alone can solve the problem.”

He added: “The industry has spent years improving the process around entry, yet deaths continue to happen. If safety depends on people carrying out the same checks perfectly every time, mistakes will inevitably occur, and the consequences can be fatal. Training will always be part of the solution, but it should not be treated as the whole solution.”

“If we want to stop enclosed space deaths, we need to look more seriously at barriers, access controls, interlocks and other engineering controls that prevent unsafe entry before a person is put at risk. We must see if the risk can be eliminated by finding ways to reduce the need to enter enclosed spaces. Fixed gas detection systems are available on tankers. It is time to explore the same solution for enclosed spaces on all ship types.”