APL was named ¡®Ship Operator of the Year¡¯ at the Safety at Sea Awards 2017 in London last evening. The award is a recognition of APL¡¯s safe working practices and initiatives which have demonstrably improved the work life and welfare of sea crew on board APL-operated vessels.

APL Chief Executive Officer, Nicolas Sartini said, ¡°This accolade is an affirmation of APL¡¯s ¡°Safety First¡± emphasis on board our vessels. The safety and welfare of crew aboard APL ships are central to our operations and must never be compromised. While every crew member is responsible for his own safety, APL enforces safety protocols and provides training that equip them with the right attitude and knowledge towards safety management.¡±

In 2016, APL invested over 5% of its total manning crew costs in ship staff training. Together with APL¡¯s robust enforcement of safety protocols that enable early detection as well as prevention and mitigation of associated operational risks, APL recorded its 9th consecutive year of zero fatality; and a low lost-time injury frequency rate of 1.80 incidents per million man hours last year.

To optimise the safety of seafarers onboard its vessels, APL also deploys the latest navigation assistance tools and technologies that track and analyse wide-ranging nautical, meteorological and geographic information from ashore in real-time ¨C 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Based on live analytics of its vessels¡¯ operating speeds, ocean currents, weather forecasts and high traffic areas, a team of onshore experts are empowered to assess, anticipate and mitigate any navigation-related risks to its vessel operations.

Complementing the efforts, route optimisation systems are being installed onboard the APL vessel fleet. These systems take into account the hydrodynamic properties of the vessel, loading parameters and weather forecasts to map out the safest and most efficient voyage that enable ship officers to make best informed and real-time navigation decisions throughout its voyage.