Root Cause Analysis

Conducting an effective root cause analysis (RCA) is rarely straightforward, particularly onboard ship, where the team tasked with uncovering the real cause is often thousands of miles from the vessel. 

Crews may not always have the time, training, or equipment needed to investigate an issue in full, and by the time a shore-based team gets involved, vital evidence can already be lost. 

The result, too often, is an RCA that stops at describing what happened rather than establishing why it happened.  

Here at Brookes Bell we’ve reviewed a number of RCA reports that fall into exactly this trap: a detailed timeline of events, but little real progress toward the underlying cause. 

For P&I Clubs, ship owners, charterers, insurers, and legal teams, that gap matters. Without a defensible finding on cause, it’s difficult to apportion liability, pursue recovery, or advise with confidence on next steps. 

Clarity where others see only symptoms 

 Brookes Bell has extensive experience conducting complex RCAs involving multiple stakeholders, including equipment manufacturers, owners, charterers, and their respective insurers and legal advisors. 

Because we act independently of any one party’s interests, our findings carry weight with every side of a dispute, not just the one that instructed us. 

Our Marine Engineers also draw on the full range of in-house expertise at Brookes Bell, including Master Mariners, Naval Architects, Metallurgists, and Fuel Chemists, to build a complete picture of an incident rather than a partial one. 

Backed by our in-house metallurgical laboratory 

 Where a case calls for physical evidence rather than inference, our Marine Engineers are supported by The Lab at Brookes Bell, one of the industry’s leading facilities for materials analysis, failure investigation, and non-destructive testing. 

This means a root cause finding can be tested and confirmed, not just argued – the difference between a report that holds up under scrutiny and one that doesn’t. 

If your RCA needs to get beyond the timeline and establish the true cause, Brookes Bell can help. Speak to us today to find out more.