SASH Response Readiness
For ship managers, fleet operators and maritime employers
From 2026, STCW / PSSR includes prevention of and response to violence and harassment, including bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault.
That is an important regulatory step. But minimum compliance is not the same as operational confidence.
SASH Response Readiness helps shipping companies strengthen the management response behind their policies, reporting routes and safeguarding commitments — so ship and shore teams are better prepared when concerns are raised.
Cadets are being prepared to recognise, challenge and report.
We help organisations prepare for what comes next.
The regulation has moved. The response has to move with it.
IMO Resolution MSC.560(108) updates STCW Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities by adding competence around prevention of and response to violence and harassment, including bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault.
The MCA’s PSSR guidance describes this as “basic knowledge and understanding” of violence and harassment, including the continuum of harm, contributing factors such as abuse of power, stress, isolation, fatigue, drugs and alcohol, and action to intervene and report.
For shipping companies, the practical question is simple:
If more people understand what unacceptable behaviour looks like, are managers ready to respond when it is reported?
Basic knowledge is the minimum
Basic knowledge is the minimum
Basic knowledge is the minimum
PSSR creates an important baseline. It does not, by itself, build trust in the reporting system.
Reporting is a trust decision
Basic knowledge is the minimum
Basic knowledge is the minimum
People may know the route and still worry about retaliation, confidentiality, career impact or being believed.
Managers shape the outcome
Basic knowledge is the minimum
Managers shape the outcome
The first response, first decision, and first ship-to-shore handover can either strengthen confidence or weaken it.to–
This is not generic workplace training with ships added in
SASH concerns rarely arrive neatly packaged. They may emerge at sea, after hours, during port-call pressure, through a welfare route, from a cadet, from a witness, or through a manager who is not sure what to do next.
This is where response readiness matters — not because companies are doing nothing, but because the maritime environment is complex.
SASH concerns at sea are shaped by hierarchy, power imbalance, closed living and working spaces, fatigue, isolation, mixed-nationality crews, digital gossip, career dependence, and the reality that people may still have to live and work onboard while a concern is being handled.
Consistency is hard to achieve across vessels, managers, ranks, cultures and shore-side functions. SASH Response Readiness helps close that gap by building practical confidence where policy meets real life onboard.
What SASH Response Readiness helps strengthen
Manager confidence
Ship-to-shore consistency
Manager confidence
Clearer judgement when a concern is raised, especially in uncertain or high-pressure situations.
Reporting trust
Ship-to-shore consistency
Manager confidence
Better understanding of why people stay silent, and what makes reporting routes feel safe enough to use.
Ship-to-shore consistency
Ship-to-shore consistency
Ship-to-shore consistency
More reliable handling across Masters, officers, HR, Crewing, DPA, HSEQ and other shore-side functions.
Fair process
Retention and culture
Ship-to-shore consistency
A response that protects people while preserving fairness, neutrality and care for everyone involved.
Response discipline
Retention and culture
Retention and culture
Greater confidence around first response, confidentiality, escalation, documentation and handover boundaries.
Retention and culture
Retention and culture
Retention and culture
Stronger confidence among cadets and seafarers that concerns will be taken seriously and handled with care.
The next step in protecting the next generation
SASH at Sea helps cadets and young seafarers recognise unacceptable behaviour, understand their options and build confidence to act.
SASH Response Readiness supports the other side of that equation: the organisational response.
This matters because cadet feedback is clear. The barriers to reporting are not abstract. Our cadet research repeatedly named fear, shame, stigma, retaliation, confidentiality concerns, hierarchy, career damage, gossip and the belief that nothing would happen.
That is why this work sits alongside cadet training.
It helps protect the people you are developing and the investment you are making in the next generation of seafarers.
Support can be shaped around your organisation
Response Readiness
A focused route for organisations preparing for the 2026 PSSR change and wanting to strengthen management confidence.
Fleet Implementation
For companies needing greater consistency across vessels, departments and ship–shore interfaces.
Strategic Culture Partner
For organisations treating SASH as part of wider safety culture, retention, governance and leadership development.
Each route is tailored to your operating context, reporting structure and readiness level.
Prepare for the requirement Build confidence in the response
EJB Maritime works across maritime culture, safety, retention and behavioural change.
Our SASH work is informed by direct cadet delivery, sector evidence, coaching practice and the operational realities of life at sea.
The focus is not simply helping people know what a policy says. It's helping organisations build confidence that the response behind the policy is ready.
SASH Response Readiness helps your organisation go further — strengthening trust, consistency and management confidence across ship and shore.
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Photography by Finlay Twiss