Casualty Investigation Code

The Code of the International Standards and Recommended Practices for a Safety Investigation into a Marine Casualty or Marine Incident requires a Maritime safety investigation to be conducted into every “very serious marine casualty”, which is defined as a marine casualty involving the total loss of the ship or a death or severe damage to the environment.

The Code also recommends an investigation into other marine casualties and incidents, by the flag State of a ship involved, if it is considered likely that it would provide information that could be used to prevent future accidents.