The main legal basis for marine accident investigations lies in the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In Article 94, it states that it is the responsibility of the Flag State to institute “inquiry” (investigation) into accidents on the high seas. 
Accidents occurring elsewhere in territorial waters or inland waters are not covered by UNCLOS or any reference made to the investigation aims. In addition to UNCLOS, the conventions on Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) and Marine Pollution (MARPOL) touch on certain regulations connected with accident investigations.
The statutory obligation to investigate marine casualties is in all main IMO/ILO Conventions. IMO Code A.849(20) as amended by A.884(21) for the investigation of marine casualties and incidents is widely applied, although it is only a recommendation until now. 
Data on Maritime Casualties and Incidents are defined by circulars MSC-MEP.3/Circ.1 and are accessible to IMO Member States and other administrative users.
A Marine Safely Investigation should be separate from, and independent of, any other form of investigation. However, it is not the purpose of CODE OF THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR A SAFETY INVESTIGATION INTO A MARINE CASUALTY OR MARINE INCIDENT (CASUALTY INVESTIGATION CODE) (Adopted May 16, 2008, Effective date January 1, 2010) to preclude any other form of investigation, including investigations for action in civil, criminal and administrative proceedings. Further, it is not the intent of the Code for a State or States conducting a Marine Safety Investigation to refrain from fully reporting on the Causal Factors of a Marine Casualty or Marine Incident because blame or liability may be inferred from the findings.
The purpose of waterborne accident and incident investigations is the prevention of accidents. It is not the purpose of waterborne accident investigation or the investigation report to attribute blame or to assign responsibility. The use of the reports for reasons other than improvement of safety should be avoided.
The practices and rules for shipping have developed over catastrophic accidents. Knowledge gained and lessons learned from the background for marine accident investigations, based on the obligation to report the results of accident investigations.
The Ship-owner and Master are responsible for planning, organizing and the carrying out of risk assessments on board. To ensure smooth implementation, the shipping company needs a risk assessment system at a strategic level. IMO recommends that Ship-owners implement such systems even for their vessels for which such systems are not required. The protection supervisor and the protection and environment committee on board should be involved, to represent the interests of employees and make sure the shipping company follows up its responsibilities. 
Risk assessment is a detailed and systematic evaluation of all real and potential sources of danger, and must be carried out regularly. The purpose is to identify all reasonably foreseeable risks connected to the work on board, and to determine whether the risk is acceptable, or if preventive or corrective measures are called for. Risk assessments should lead to appropriate procedures, identify needs of protective equipment and safety measures to reduce the risk of personal injury, and require preparatory and supplementary work. 
As defined in clause 1.2 of the ISM Code, the requirement for the assessment and management of risks is fundamental to the Code. The ISM Code does not identify any particular approaches to the management of risk, and it is for the shipping companies to choose methods suitable to its organizational structure its ships type and its activities. 
The Risk assessment and response should be complete and effective, and the entire exercise should be documented to provide evidence of the decision-making process. Risk assessment is fundamental to conformity (ISM Code) with most of its clauses. Risk analysis or risk assessment like Safety Management System is a proactive/active system because the principle of Safety Management involves managing and controlling risks levels of hazards and keeping them within acceptable levels. 
The proposed work aims to help the Master and the ship's officers to correctly assess the emerging hazards and collect all the evidence to protect the rights of innocence of the Ship-owner and the vessel.