ONE year after the oil spill disaster from the bulker Wakashio off Mauritius, the industry is still waiting for the final accident investigation report.

That fact, while concerning, will come as no surprise to readers who have followed years of coverage by Lloyd's List senior markets reporter Nidaa Bakhsh on the woeful state of maritime casualty investigations.

Flag states recently knocked back an industry proposal for time limits, despite repeated calls to fall in line with the aviation industry’s reporting standards.

Three years ago we revealed that just half of required submissions were being filed to the International Maritime Organization.

The trend was improving by March this year, but IMO chief Kitack Lim is unlikely to meet his 2019 pledge to bump the number up to 80% by next year.

Casualty investigations take time, but holding them up has grave consequences.

The ITF union this week protested the continued detention without charge of the Wakashio’s crew in Mauritius, calling it unfair and unjust.

The Lloyd’s List View: Flag registries that fail to meet basic basic safety standards cost lives and should be shut down.

In other news, a plan to wind up the Lloyd’s Salvage Arbitration Branch has been called off after howls of protest. Nigel Lowry reports the Scandinavian marine insurance market may have come up with its own alternative to LOF, had Lloyd’s carried out its earlier threat.

The five-yearly Seafarer Workforce Report has again showed the supply of ship officers has failed to meet growth in demand, and that average ages of officers are increasing .

Listen Out: Podcast regular Guy Platten, secretary-general of the International Chamber of Shipping, joins us to cut through the data to find out what to make of it.

For more on the topic, read Richard Clayton on how to train seafarers for future jobs that may not yet exist.

And Don’t Miss: the first of our two-part podcast series dissecting the EU’s climate offensive on shipping.