Fatigue was consistently associated with poor quality sleep, negative
environmental factors, high job demands and high stress.
What a fantastic first paragraph.
Global concern with the extent of seafarer fatigue and its potential environmental cost is widely evident across the shipping industry. Maritime regulators, ship owners, trade unions and P & I clubs are all alert to the fact that with certain ship types a combination of minimal manning, sequences of rapid port turnarounds, adverse weather conditions and high levels of traffic may find seafarers working long hours and with insufficient recuperative rest. In these circumstances fatigue and reduced performance may lead to environmental damage, ill-health and reduced life-s short supply. A long history of research into working hours and conditions in manufacturing as well as road transport and civil aviation industries has no parallel in commercial shipping. There are huge potential consequences of fatigue at sea in terms of both ship operations (accidents, collision risk, poorer performance, economic cost and environmental damage) and the individual seafarer (injury, poor health and well-being,). Not only has there been relatively little research on seafarers’ fatigue but what there has been has been largely focused on specific jobs (e.g. watchkeeping), specific sectors (e.g. the short
sea sector) and specific outcomes (e.g. accidents). This reflects general trends in fatigue research where the emphasis has often been on specific groups of workers (e.g. shiftworkers) and on safety rather than quality of working life (a crucial part of current definitions of occupational health).
A link to the MCA report on Fatigue.
Attachments:
fatigue_research_report_464.pdf
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