Speakers
Ethics in Shipbuilding and Maritime Engineering
Maritime injuries, welfare, and wellbeing challenges persist within the industry despite extensive regulatory frameworks, perhaps in part due to a continued reliance on reactive risk management and compliance-led design. This presentation argues for a proactive, lifecycle-based approach that embeds ethical responsibility toward seafarers and the environment in which they operate as a foundational element of how maritime assets are conceived, delivered, and operated. Building on Safe by Design principles, it introduces an Ethical by Design framework that positions ethics not as a bolt-on consideration, but as a fundamental consideration for decision-making across a vessel or asset portfolio.
Ethical by Design acknowledges seafarers as central stakeholders whose safety, wellbeing, dignity, and long-term health are shaped by design decisions made throughout the lifecycle—from concept and construction through testing, commissioning, operation, maintenance and eventual scrapping or change of service. These human ethical considerations are considered alongside their environmental and sustainability led counterparts before being explicitly balanced against commercial, security, and performance requirements – recognising economic viability as essential to creating resilient and sustainable ethical outcomes.
The presentation will outline how ethics can be operationalised as “how business is done” through structured, proactive design choices rather than post-hoc controls. It will demonstrate how creating an organisation that designs for ethics at portfolio level can reduce injury risk, improve sustainability and lifecycle performance, and align commercial success with a credible and enduring commitment to seafarer welfare and global ethical responsibility.”
Sam is a chartered engineer with 12 years' experience within mechanical and maritime engineering in the OEM, consultancy and regulatory environments.
A broad and varied career has allowed sam to gain a hollistic view of engineering and risk management having delivered projects on both ship and shore-based installations including large scale ship design and optimisation for operation along with safety assessments of industrial shore-side installations, bespoke mechanical devlopments and high-risk procedural operations.
Sams career transitioned to a speciality in design focused safety in 2020, after 7 years delivering engineering projects in the commercial and defence maritime sectors, utilising his skills in engineering design to help clients successfully protect their staff and the public effectively via proactive design considerations. Currently applying this to ever-developing renewables industry, balancing management of risk with promoting innovation is the core aim.
Sam joined Cairn Risk in January 2023 bringing with him a decade's experience in project delivery and an astute ability to problem solve to help constructors and innovators transform the energy landscape via a safe and pragmatic approach.