A guest asks to take the tender ashore. The wind has got up, the second officer looks uneasy but says nothing, and the guest is a friend of the owner and is being charming about it. You are the interior HOD; this is not your department, not your call, and you can see something everyone else has decided not to see. You have about twenty seconds.
Structured decision-making under pressure
Under pressure people jump to the first plausible option and defend it. A structure slows that down without slowing the decision:
- Define the problem in one sentence. Half of all bad decisions solve the wrong problem.
- Gather the facts you actually have, and mark what is assumption.
- Generate at least two real options. A single option is not a decision.
- Evaluate against risk, time, resources and the guest experience — safety first, always.
- Decide, communicate, and say who owns it.
- Review: does the plan still fit reality? Be willing to reverse it.
Speed changes the depth of the process, not its existence. In an emergency, a very fast version runs inside the SMS procedure and the Master authority. In ambiguity, the correct decision is often to buy time: stop, delay, ask, escalate. Deciding to delay is a decision.
Deciding in ambiguity
When information is missing or conflicting, name it out loud: "I do not know whether the guest is still ashore, and I need to know before I report the head count." Ambiguity that is voiced can be resolved; ambiguity that is politely absorbed becomes a link in an error chain.
Speaking up: the graded assertiveness ladder
Assertiveness is a trained skill, not a temperament. The graded assertiveness ladder escalates only as far as it needs to:
| Step | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Enquiry | Ask a question | "How is the sea state for the tender run?" |
| 2. Statement of concern | Say how you feel, with a fact | "I am uneasy — that chop looks bigger than earlier." |
| 3. Suggested alternative | Offer another option | "Could we wait thirty minutes, or use the passerelle?" |
| 4. Direct challenge | State the problem plainly | "I do not think that tender should launch." |
| 5. Emergency stop | Use an agreed stop phrase | "Stop. This is unsafe. We need the Captain." |
Two-challenge rule: if you have raised a concern twice and it has not been acknowledged, escalate to a higher authority. Do not conclude that you must be wrong because a senior did not answer.
Closed-loop communication
- Sender directs a message to a named person: "Marie, muster the guests in the main salon."
- Receiver reads it back: "Muster the guests in the main salon."
- Sender confirms: "Correct."
- The receiver reports completion: "Guests mustered, four of four."
The loop only closes on the fourth step. "Yes" is not a read-back, and an instruction to the room is an instruction to nobody.
Onboard Notes
- Every crew member has the right and the duty to raise a safety concern, regardless of rank. Your SMS says how; the DPA route exists precisely for concerns that stall onboard.
- Agree a stop phrase with your team before you need it, and honour it without irritation the first time it is used, or it will never be used again.
- Escalating to the Master is not disloyalty. Overriding authority for safety sits with the Master, and you are giving them the information they need to exercise it.