Logically, a catastrophic failure can only be caused by a defect in design, materials, or workmanship. Prior to practising at the Bar, I worked as a company and commercial solicitor and in-house for Rolls-Royce and Alstom (in Paris), structuring and drafting commercial contracts, and negotiating deals in multiple jurisdictions around the world (principally in the Far East, including China, South Korea, Malaysia, and India). Following the award of a major project to Rolls-Royce in the summer of 1990, I became the first solicitor in the history of the company to undertake their multi-disciplinary one-year internal training course for Project Managers of  major Power Projects around the world. As I wrote in an international conference paper which I presented to the Royal Institute of Naval Architects in London in April 1999 – ‘The legal and commercial consequences of performing unspecified design work in ship-conversion projects’:

‘There is no legal definition of design. In principle there is a design element in the whole spectrum of ship-conversion activities ranging from concept design to appearance, functional criteria, detailed design, choice of materials and methods of work. Unspecified design work inevitably results in consequences which are only realised following construction. The combined impact of unspecified design work in aggregate can result in radical changes in the: (1) planned and priced volume of steelwork incorporated into the vessel; (2) specified deadweight tonnage of the vessel; (3) specified speed and fuel consumption of the vessel; (4) specified meta-centric height of the vessel; and (5) stability and trim of the vessel. Consequently, the vessel presented to Owners at re-delivery may be materially non-compliant with the Contract.’

It follows, that where there is a catastrophic failure at sea, the evidence that needs to be obtained, examined with a tooth-comb, and analysed by experts is not only lying on the sea-bed. It is also in the documentary and electronic records of design, construction, materials, testing, and  workmanship (including repair). While this is no longer my field of practice,  in order to investigate and draw reasoned conclusions about the probable cause(s) of a catastrophic failure based upon physical and documentary evidence, the investigators need to obtain all documentary records as a matter of urgency. The article is available to view on the ‘Publications’ page at www.carlislam.co.uk. Otherwise they may never be able to establish the chain of events that resulted in catastrophic failure – which as a forensic process, is akin to project-management in reverse.