Knowledge and prevention of accident at sea: investigation and regulatory processes

Under international and European law on occurrences and casualties reports, investigation processes on marine casualties represent a part of the wider procedure of risk analysis concerning maritime navigation. Results of the investigations are of paramount importance in reviewing the rules and regulations on safety. From this point of view, the network of national investigating bodies is called upon to play a key role in the European (and international) normative process, giving efficiency and concreteness to the decision-making activities. So, investigative process is instrumental to the needs of safety legislation, which falls in the scope of IMO's aims and, thus, it is carried out in the interest of the International Community as a whole.