What responsibilities do Maritime Employers Have to Keep Employees Safe?

 While maritime employers cannot protect their employees from all of the dangers of working on the high seas, there are precautions that employers must take to provide for the safety of their employees. Maritime employers have two important responsibilities when it comes to keeping their employees safe. First, they must provide their employees with a seaworthy vessel on which to work. A vessel is seaworthy if it is suitable for its voyage at the time the voyage begins. Employers must consider the foreseeable sea conditions, length of trip and type of cargo when making a vessel seaworthy. The ship must be adequately staffed and equipped with appropriate safety gear, for example. Maritime employers also have a duty to ensure ship safety. Ship safety refers to the conditions on board the vessel rather than the condition of the vessel itself and may include safe food preparation, among other things.