"A strong safety culture is key to preventing accidents and minimising losses. This initiative is a major step forward in our commitment to ensure that Members and clients are safer with Gard," said Rolf Thore Roppestad, CEO of Gard.
The new service is provided in collaboration with SAYFR, a leading provider of safety culture assessments and culture development programs for the maritime industry.
Measures key factors
With two decades of experience in maritime safety culture, SAYFR has drawn insights from in-depth casualty investigations and feedback from over 400,000 seafarers worldwide. This extensive research has led to the development of advanced tools designed to measure the key components of a strong safety culture.
Now available to Gard’s customers, SafeMind offers a comprehensive assessment of an organisation’s safety culture – both onboard and ashore. It identifies high-risk areas, highlights opportunities for improvement, and provides a clear, data-driven overview of current practices. To add further value, results are benchmarked against industry standards, allowing customers to see how they measure up against their peers.
The goal is simple: fewer accidents, safer operations.
Benefits the industry
“At Gard, we handle more casualties in a year than even the most unfortunate shipowner would face over decades. This experience gives us a unique perspective. By combining our knowledge with advanced digital tools, we aim to help our clients and their crews operate more safely – ultimately benefiting the wider maritime industry,” said Christen Guddal, Gard’s Chief Claims Officer.
Didrik Svendsen, CEO and co-founder of SAYFR, is excited to partner with Gard on the new initiative: “Safety culture is often understood as compliance and procedures, but it goes beyond that. Our survey is able to measure the key factors of organisational culture that directly affect the risk of accidents. Our clients tend to get some real aha-moments and important new insights from the results, which in turn make them able to address what really matters to improve their safety”, said Svendsen.
From pilot project to full-scale rollout
After a successful pilot phase, where Gard offered the SafeMind program to a select group of clients, the insurer is now expanding the service to all customers, starting with P&I members and later to Hull & Machinery clients.
The service could also be made available across the shipowner’s entire fleet, regardless of whether the vessels are insured with Gard for P&I. This allows shipowners to gain a comprehensive understanding of their fleet’s overall safety culture.
Gard will cover the costs of the service for the first year after which clients will be given the opportunity to subscribe at discounted Gard rates. Importantly, no data will be shared with Gard unless the client provides explicit consent, ensuring they have full control and transparency over the use of their information.
Gard invests in SAYFR
As part of its ongoing commitment to safety and sustainability in the maritime industry, Gard has also acquired a 15,8 per cent ownership stake in SAYFR. This investment underscores Gard’s dedication to supporting and making a tangible impact on seafarer safety and wellbeing.
”Essentially, we are putting our money where our mouth is. We believe that fostering a strong safety culture benefits everyone – our clients improve their operations, crew members work in safer environments, and fewer accidents mean fewer claims. It’s a win-win for everyone,” Roppestad added.
For more details about Gard’s new safety culture service, visit our Safety culture webpage.
About Gard:
Gard is the world’s leading marine insurer, offering a wide range of insurance covers, expert casualty and claims handling, and not least, proactive and data-driven loss prevention to the maritime industry.
Gard operates 15 offices worldwide and has around 750 employees.
Gross written premium in 2024 was USD 1.2 billion. The direct insurance entities within the Gard group are rated ‘A+' with a stable outlook by Standard & Poor’s.
About SAYFR and SafeMind:
Leading provider of scalable safety culture assessments and culture development programs tailored for the maritime industry.
Over 20 years of experience improving safety culture across global maritime operations. Trusted partner to shipowners, charterers, and government authorities.
Data-driven approach powered by the maritime industry’s largest culture database.
Media contacts:
Karoline Flåm, Senior Communication Executive, Gard karoline.flaam@gard.no // +47 97717718
Ingmar Brokka Rike, Communication Executive, Gard ingmar.brokka.rike@gard.no // +47 91186282
Heidi Thaulow Harto, Chief Commercial Officer, SAYFR heidi@sayfr.com // +47 41465714
