New Rules Reinforce Shipboard Safety Culture

By Laura Majewski-Yates, EMBARC Human Resources Program Manager

In December 2021, the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) introduced Every Mariner Builds a Respectful Culture (EMBARC), a new set of federal regulations, policies, and procedures that addresses a pressing issue that the maritime industry faces on vessels around the world: sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH).

The EMBARC program was established after the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) suspended its Sea Year program for cadets in November of 2021 following serious reports of SASH within the maritime industry. USMMA now requires commercial carriers to participate in EMBARC to be eligible to carry USMMA cadets.

EMBARC transcends applicability to just cadets, however. The program’s expanded focus is to establish a safer and more respectful working environment for all mariners in the U.S. maritime industry. EMBARC’s core requirements are:

1. Build and maintain a shipboard culture of inclusion and respect.
2. Establish zero tolerance policies for SASH and a hostile work environment; zero tolerance for retaliation against anyone who reports assault or harassment; and proportionate responses to policy infractions.
3. Eliminate the barriers that survivors, witnesses, and bystanders face in reporting SASH incidents.
4. Support survivors, witnesses, and bystanders who report SASH incidents.
5. Promptly address any report of behavior that is inconsistent with EMBARC Standards, using every available resource.
6. Review all company and vessel policies and procedures to ensure such policies fully support a work environment in which assault, harassment, and retaliation against those who report assault or harassment is not tolerated.
7. Implement SASH best practices and commit to adopting updates when such practices are promulgated by MARAD.
8. Incorporate SASH prevention, response, and reporting procedures into the Company and Vessel Safety Management Systems.

Matson has embraced and adopted EMBARC to strengthen its already robust anti-harassment and SASH policies and reinforce its core value of safety across the fleet. We began integrating all EMBARC standards into our Safety Management System (SMS), policy, practices, and shipboard support programs in early 2022. By June, we submitted our first enrollment documentation to MARAD, covering the three Ready Reserve Fleet (RRF) vessels we manage.

In August, I was brought on board to fill the newly created EMBARC HR Program Manager role. In November, we submitted our EMBARC enrollment package for Matson’s commercial fleet following approval of the RRF submission.

My role at Matson is to oversee all EMBARC-related matters, serve as the SASH contact for the fleet, implement and maintain EMBARC standards, and carry out SASH training and policy execution. As a USMMA graduate and trained SASH advocate, I am proud to be involved in a historic set of regulations that address this serious industry issue and grateful to Matson for demonstrating its commitment to the safety of all crewmembers with the addition of this full-time role.

Through EMBARC implementation, Matson has stepped up to strengthen and implement important measures to keep mariners safe, prioritized a shift in onboard culture, and encouraged company-wide conversations around SASH.

Matson is also helping to ensure our industry's future by continuing to host cadets on its vessels while standing by its core value of safety. Today, more than ever, safety unequivocally encompasses building and maintaining a shipboard culture of inclusion and respect.