The first hour of a maritime emergency rarely looks like the drills — alarms overlap with incomplete information, several decisions need making before anyone has the full picture, and whoever is in charge doesn't get the luxury of waiting for certainty. What separates an organisation that manages that hour well from one that doesn't is almost never luck; it's whether the people involved trained for exactly this kind of pressure. The The First Hour: Maritime Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Response Training Course, delivered by Arab British Fellowship Training Academy, is built around that pressure point, for professionals responsible for leading maritime organisations through real emergencies.

The programme starts with the decision-making and crisis leadership skills that first hour demands, then moves into building contingency plans before a crisis hits, coordinating a structured emergency response, and managing the specific demands of an oil spill or environmental incident. From there, participants cover what comes after the immediate emergency — recovery planning, business continuity, and honestly reviewing what worked — and close with embedding emergency management into the organisation as a system and a culture rather than a plan that only gets tested once. Participants leave ready to lead through the moments that don't wait for a meeting to be scheduled.

Who Should Attend?

• Maritime managers and operations supervisors
• Port and terminal managers
• Ship officers and emergency response coordinators
• Safety, risk, and maritime compliance professionals
• Shipping company executives responsible for crisis oversight

What You'll Gain

• Make sound decisions under pressure during the earliest stages of a maritime emergency
• Build contingency plans and mobilise resources before a crisis hits
• Coordinate structured emergency response using clear command and communication
• Manage oil spill and environmental emergency response effectively
• Lead recovery planning and business continuity after an incident
• Embed emergency management as an organisational system, not a one-time plan

Module 1: The First Hour: Decision-Making When a Maritime Emergency Hits

• Decision-making and crisis leadership under incomplete information and time pressure
• Roles, responsibilities, and the types of emergencies organisations actually face

Module 2: Building Preparedness Before the Crisis: Contingency Planning

• Developing contingency frameworks, emergency plans, and response procedures
• Preparing resources, teams, and communication systems in advance

Module 3: Coordinating the Response: Command Structures and Communication

• Incident command structures and coordinated response in real time
• Managing vessel accidents, operational failures, and stakeholder communication

Module 4: When It's Oil: Spill Response and Environmental Emergency Management

• Oil spill prevention, response procedures, and recovery coordination
• Meeting environmental protection requirements during and after an incident

Module 5: After the Emergency: Recovery, Business Continuity and Performance Review

• Crisis assessment, damage control, and business continuity planning
• Evaluating response performance honestly to improve future preparedness

Module 6: Embedding Emergency Management Into the Organisation: Systems, Standards and Culture

• International standards for maritime emergency management
• Building safety culture and running realistic emergency response exercises