Legal aspects of investigating marine accidents in Poland

Implementation of ERIKA III, the third package of EU legislation intended to integrate international standards of marine accident investigation, has significantly changed the way Polish public authorities investigate marine accidents. Until the implementation, maritime chambers conducted the investigation of marine accidents. Since October 2012 there has been a dual system in place whereby public authorities are entitled to investigate marine accidents in Poland. This article reviews distinctive features of both approaches and the impact thereof on the system of investigating marine accidents. Beside a theoretical description of the legal basis for the functioning of both maritime chambers and the State Marine Accident Investigation Commission, this paper includes analytic data of investigations conducted by both these bodies in order to prove that the number of investigations conducted by maritime chambers has drastically decreased since the establishment of the State Commission, and that the number of investigations conducted by the State Commission itself cannot be sufficient, leading to a decrease of safety in maritime navigation.