Training Mariners to Reduce Human Error PREPARED BY:Captain Anthony Patterson and Mr. Leslie G. O'ReillyABSTRACT:The vast majority of accidents at sea are caused by human error. Human error is, in turn, heavily influenced by two factors: organizational failures and situational awareness. Organizational failures typically lead to latent errors, or accidents waiting to happen; while poor situational awareness leads to poor decisions and incorrect actions that result in accidents. Since the fundamental objectives of seafarer training are to improve safety, environmental protection and economic efficiency in the maritime industry, there must be an emphasis on providing training that will improve situational awareness and reduce organizational failures. While STCW'95 has attempted to introduce more competence based training into maritime training programs, recent events indicate that more effort is required to address the source causes of human error. This paper will describe some of the programs being launched by the Marine Institute to improve situational awareness training for mariners and to reduce the risk of organizational amongst managers and regulators.