Psychological safety and leadership: Building a strong safety culture onboard

During the 2026 SAFETY4SEA Limassol Forum, Capt. Alexandros Gerokounas, MSQ Manager, DPA / CSO at LMZ Shipping emphasized that without psychological safety, effective teamwork cannot exist, concluding that trust and wellbeing are essential pillars of any successful onboard environment.

Despite the existence of Safety Management Systems (SMS), regulatory compliance requirements, and established procedures, incidents continue to occur. Investigations consistently show that human factors contribute significantly, but also that organizational factors, environmental conditions, and sometimes even luck are involved.

This raises a fundamental question: it is not only whether procedures exist, but whether the organizational culture actually enables people to follow them effectively in real operational conditions.

What is psychological safety?

Psychological safety is the shared belief that individuals can raise safety concerns, report errors, challenge decisions, and speak up about risk without fear of retaliation, embarrassment, or negative career impact.

It is also important to emphasize what it is not. It is not about lowering standards. It is not about removing accountability. It is not about tolerating unsafe behavior. Instead, it is about ensuring that safety-critical information flows freely across all levels of the organization.

Why psychological safety matters

Without psychological safety, organizations develop blind spots. Near misses often go unreported. Minor hazards become normalized over time, as repeated exposure makes them appear “acceptable” or “part of the job.”

Junior personnel, including both officers and ratings, may hesitate to challenge decisions or raise concerns, especially in environments where hierarchy is strong.

Over time, this leads to a situation where only major incidents become visible, while the early warning signs remain hidden.

This creates a critical weakness in the safety system: the organization reacts to incidents rather than preventing them.

With psychological safety in place, the dynamic changes significantly. Hazards are identified earlier. Decision-making improves because information is more complete and more accurate. Thus, operational resilience is strengthened because small issues are addressed before they escalate.

The role of leadership and shore management

Shore management and leadership behavior are central in shaping psychological safety onboard.

Crew members continuously observe how the office responds to incidents, how feedback is treated, how investigations are conducted, and what type of key performance indicators are emphasized. They also observe how commercial pressure is communicated across the fleet.

If personnel observe that reporting leads to blame, punishment, or career consequences, they will naturally become more cautious and less open. If they observe that reporting leads to understanding, learning, and improvement, they are more likely to speak up.

Organizational barriers

Several structural and operational factors can weaken psychological safety in maritime environments.

#1 Hierarchical structures

Strong hierarchical structures, while necessary for operational clarity, can discourage open communication if not balanced properly. In some cases, personnel may feel that questioning decisions is inappropriate or risky.

#2 Different communication norms

Multicultural crews add another layer of complexity. Different communication norms, cultural expectations, and attitudes toward authority can affect whether individuals feel comfortable speaking up. Without awareness of these differences, important information may remain unspoken.

#3 Fatigue reduces willingness

Fatigue and workload pressure also play a significant role. Both onboard and ashore, personnel often operate under demanding conditions, and fatigue reduces not only performance but also willingness to escalate concerns.

Commercial pressure can further reinforce silence if individuals believe that reporting issues will disrupt schedules or create operational difficulties.

Speaking up as a safety behavior

A very important element of psychological safety is encouraging people to speak up consistently. This includes raising concerns that may seem minor, unclear, or even “silly” at first glance.

However, experience shows that many serious incidents are preceded by small, often overlooked signals. Without discussion, these signals remain isolated and unaddressed.

Open communication is therefore not a formality but a functional safety requirement. Without it, the organization loses visibility of emerging risks.

Practical actions to strengthen psychological safety: The Four Pillars model

To integrate psychological safety, ensure that the SMS covers these four specific pillars:

• Safety policy: Explicitly state a “no-blame” policy for reporting mistakes or near-misses.
• Safety risk management: Include “human element” risks, such as fatigue or poor communication, in your hazard assessments.
• Safety assurance: Use anonymous surveys or “safety climate” audits to monitor how safe crew members actually feel when speaking up.
• Safety promotion: Standardize regular safety briefings (e.g., Toolbox Meetings, SCM, etc.) that require input from all ranks, not just the officer in charge.

Apart from these, several practical approaches can support the development of psychological safety.

One important mechanism is “stop work authority”. Personnel should be trained and empowered to stop work immediately if they observe something unsafe or outside procedure. This reinforces the principle that safety takes priority over operational pressure.

Furthermore, organizations should prioritize meaningful safety indicators. While many KPIs exist, not all reflect real safety performance. The focus should shift toward indicators that reflect actual operational risk and early warning signals, rather than purely numerical or administrative measures.

Finally, when incidents occur, responses should be constructive and realistic. The objective is to understand what conditions contributed to the event and how recurrence can be prevented, rather than focusing on individual faults.

Moving away from blame culture

A major cultural transformation is required in many organizations: reducing reliance on blame.

Blame culture is often easier in the short term, as it provides quick answers. However, it does not address underlying causes and therefore allows similar incidents to be repeated.

A more effective approach is to consistently analyze:

• What conditions existed at the time
• What organizational or environmental factors contributed
• What system weaknesses were present
• How similar situations can be prevented in the future

This shifts safety management from reactive punishment to proactive prevention.

People as the first safety system

Even with frameworks, procedures, and compliance systems, the most important safety barrier remains the people within the organization.

Personnel onboard are often the first to detect weak signals of risk. They are effectively the first warning system. When their observations are heard and acted upon, the entire safety system becomes stronger.

This requires leadership to prioritize listening, openness, and trust. Small pieces of information, when shared early, can prevent far larger incidents later.

source : safety4sea