The History of Safety at Sea

Since the earliest times, the sea has always been synonymous with insecurity for those who venture on to it. He that would sail without danger must never come on the main sea, as the proverb puts it. This endemic absence of safety probably explains why early maritime trade was mainly the preserve of adventurers. The sea was associated with the idea of chance or fate. a concept still to be found in expressions such as "maritime perils". Seaborne transport developed in such a laissez-faire way that the many accidents of which bold navigators were victims were soon accepted as part of the natural course of things. As a leading contemporary professor of maritime law puts it, The frailty of the human factor, in the face of the inexhaustible and indefinable sea, confers on the effort of navigation the character of a bold venture, which may succeed and prove quite profitable, but which can also fail and cause irreparable losses.

 

The history of navigation since ancient times shows that the needs of safety came only gradually to the fore, in the wake of accidents and disasters, bringing about huge changes in the individual and collective behaviour of those engaged in maritime activities, who clung to ancient practices and habits.

It might be thought that there were relatively few risks at sea in olden times, when craft of modest size, and few in number, using sails or oars as their mode of propulsion, never ventured far from the coast. In fact, the period was one of persistent insecurity, making sea voyages extremely hazardous. In addition to bad sea and weather conditions, piracy was rife throughout the Mediterranean. Ships were hard to handle and could so easily be tossed about by winds and currents. Shipwrecks, usually caused by storms, remained a frequent occurrence.