The Brazilian ship Bartolomeu Dias has been the first to receive the Medal of Recognition from the MAIS (My Actions Encourage Safety) Program.

Porto Itapoá has begun a campaign to encourage and recognize ships that put an effort into improving their organization and their safety conditions. The initiative, which is part of the MAIS (My Actions Encourage Safety) Program, awarded its first Medal of Recognition to the Brazilian vessel, Bartolomeu Dias, on Monday (April 4th).
The Port Operations Manager, Thiago Santos, explained that the campaign is based on the rules established by Regulatory Standard 29 (NR 29), which defines a set of safety recommendations for port operations. “We have increased the number of inspections of vessels, known as ‘Vessel Inspections’, to ensure they are safer for both the ship’s crew and our employees who work on board,” he said.On its last visit to Porto Itapoá, the Port Safety team pointed out some possible improvements on the Bartolomeu Dias. “We were pleased to see that they had taken our recommendations on board and made changes”, added Santos. “It is important that these efforts are recognized”, he concluded.

For the ship’s captain, Luiz Cláudio Marinho, the medal is an important way to encourage them to keep improving. “It is a very good idea. It encourages us and shows an appreciation for what we have done to improve safety”, he said. Marinho commented that he has been a ship’s captain since 1994 and this is the first time he has seen a campaign totally focused on safety.An important part of the campaign, as well as the medal, is a letter of recommendation, which is sent to the shipping company (the owner or manager), to highlight the good practice adopted by the crew. The Bartolomeu Dias is owned by the Danish company, Maersk.

Also at the presentation were the creators of the campaign, the occupational safety experts, Luiz Mascarenhas and Cléber Mello, the occupational health and safety supervisor, Renan Schneider, from Porto Itapoá; as well as the Chief Mate of the Bartolomeu Dias, Márcia Haegely Condor.

The Bartholomeu Dias is a Brazilian vessel, dedicated to cabotage, i.e. shipping between ports along the Brazilian coast. It is exclusively a container vessel, with a capacity of 4800 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units). One TEU represents a standard maritime container, 20 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet high. The ship was built in 2014 and it is 254m long and 37m wide