Formerly a former print journalist and broadcaster often behind the microphone on both the BBC and independent radio stations across Europe, Mark was also a personal press officer to a UK Cabinet Minister for a lengthy period and spent some time at the very highest level of government.
Between 1997 and 2011 he headed the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s public relations and media department. During this time he handled many significant shipping, yachting and oil incidents and worked closely with many companies and teams within the oil and gas sectors. He has been involved in many multi-faceted drills, training exercises and on-line simulations of casualty situations to test organisations, local authorities, government bodies and shipping and energy companies.
For the diverse global media, a large mega box ship casualty with its plethora of goods being carried will be a gift that keeps on giving. A coordinated media response is a necessity.
From the MSC Napoli, which occurred in January 2007, to the container ship groundings today, the many lessons that incidents with box ships of varying sizes have taught us about being responsible for the co-ordination of media management are worth repeating for any future major casualty.
In 2007, I was Head of Communications at the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), when the MSC Napoli developed large cracks in its engine room whilst en route to Sines in Portugal. The 62,000-tonne ship took in water through a hole in its side during a storm in the English Channel and the crew were forced to abandon ship. Salvage efforts over the following few days did not go to plan and the ship had to be beached off the East Devon coast in the UK after her back broke. Everyone recognised
that had she been allowed to sink mid-channel, it would have been a catastrophe for both the English and French coastlines.
Let’s also not forget that, in 2007, just 12 short years ago, Facebook was still in its infancy and there was no Twitter, no Snapchat and only very limited capability smartphones. In short, there was no social media to really mess up your day and provide instant criticism and analysis on the go.
In the present day, as a rescue helicopter reaches a ship to assist in evacuating its crew, news organisations will immediately start tweeting updates.
However, even in the early stages of the MSC Napoli incident, the media were speculating that various town councils in Northern France had pressurised the French government to ensure that the casualty came ashore on the UK side of the English Channel, despite our protestations that this had nothing to do with tourism issues and all to do with the UK’s undersea topography!
The MSC Napoli was carrying 2,323 containers, 158 of which were classed as having potentially hazardous contents, although the ship’s overall capacity was more than 4,400 TEU. Built in 1991, at the time, it represented one of the largest container ships on the high seas.
However, due to the step change in capacity that has occurred over the past ten years, the MSC Napoli was nothing like one of the 20,000-plus TEU behemoths that might one day find itself on a beach near you.
After the MSC Napoli grounded, the logistical issues were immediate and apparent as they would be in any mega box ship casualty, but the sheer size of mega ships and the huge quantities they transport mean that these problems will be magnified.
82 | The Report • September 2019 • Issue 89
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