If the investigator is to board the vessel at the first
port of call immediately after release, he/she should liaise with
the Master directly on the procedures he/she will be employing to
collect the evidence. The investigator should bear in mind what the
master and crew have been through and that the Master's ability to
assist in the investigation may be limited. A balance should be struck
between the needs of the investigator and the needs of the Master
and crew. The requirement to have an early liaison should be facilitated
by the shipowner, the Company security officer and the flag State
of the ship.
The investigator should always be sensitive to the fact
that the crew would have been subject to extreme levels of stress
during their period of capture and negotiation and would like to get
the vessel back to normal operational condition as quickly as possible.
The Master should give the investigator assistance and cooperation,
to the best of his/her ability, for the collection of evidence.
If the investigator has to board the vessel at the first
port of call after release he/she should:
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.1 Contact the CSO of the vessel and confirm if
the Master has been able to cordon off areas of the ship to preserve
the evidence.
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.2 Recognize and appreciate that the crew would
have been under extreme stress for a number of days and may have been
subject to physical, mental and even sexual abuse. The investigator
should be sensitive to this fact while taking crew statements.
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.3 Be mindful of the flag State's obligations
to conduct its own investigation as well as its need for immediate
access to the ship and crew upon the ship's arrival.
The following sections briefly describe some of the actions
and procedures in the collection of evidence to support the submission
of written reports.