OE 524: Introduction to Ship Design and Ship Building

Newspapers are often the first on the scene of a shipping disaster.

The archives of the New York Times are a great source for articles written from the mid-19th century through the early 21st, and you can find current New York Times articles in the News & Newspapers database as well as many other national and international papers.

Look for national and international news along with legal documents like court opinions and federal codes in Nexis Uni.

Following an accident, the government(s) of the ship(s) will conduct an investigation. These reports can provide very detailed explanations of what happened when.

These investigations occur not just because they're helpful in preventing future accidents but because they are required by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for all member nations:

Each State shall cause an inquiry to be held by or before a suitably qualified person or persons into every marine casualty or incident of navigation on the high seas involving a ship flying its flag and causing loss of life or serious injury to nationals of another State or serious damage to ships or installations of another State or to the marine environment. The flag State and the other State shall cooperate in the conduct of any inquiry held by that other State into any such marine casualty or incident of navigation. (Article 94, paragraph 7)

American

International