Unfinished orchestras - Safety in fragmented towing and passenger vessel operations

Interorganizational collaboration is increasingly common in maritime operations, but the safety implications for seafarers working across organizational and contractual boundaries remain insufficiently understood. The aim of this study is therefore to explore safety challenges for seafarers who work within maritime segments with high interorganizational collaboration. The study targets passenger vessels and towing vessels. Across cases, seafarers reported hazards linked to conflicting priorities between owners, charterers, and subcontractors; unpredictability and variability arising from shifting plans and fragmented decision-making. The findings highlight how language, manning practices, hierarchy, customer efficiency and information flow gaps become challenging. Towing vessels, in particular, can benefit from clearer structures and better integration of planning and communication practices. The study shows that safety in fragmented maritime operations depends on how organizations coordinate aims, share information, manage variability, and support resilient frontline decision-making. These results contribute to a broader understanding of safety in distributed maritime systems and demonstrate a need for contractual clarity, improved communication, and practices that sustain continuity and predictability across organizational boundaries.

Keywords: Maritime safety, interorganizational operations, cooperation, passenger vessels, towing vessels, towing, safety management, relations, qualitative study.