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Back to SSG 8
Photo: Jörgen Språng
| Long hours on watch |
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The working hours for masters and watch keeping officers on small vessels have escalated and frequently exceed 91 hours per week.
Research student and Captain Fredrik Hjorth at Kalmar Merchant Marine Academy has studied how safety at sea is affected by the working conditions on board.
The study has been performed on eleven smaller vessels flying various flags operating along the coast in the Baltic Sea. The study is part of a larger safety management research project and the objective was to investigate tasks, rest and working hours on vessels with only two navigational officers on board. Fredrik Hjorth has interviewed masters, officers and other crew members as well as personnel managers, designated persons and representatives for the administration and the union.
A“It is important to get a comprehensive picture. A ship can be seen as a socio-technical system, where maritime safety and the working environment are dependent on all sides of the system working together”, says Fredrik Hjorth.
A“When needed, there must be back-up available from colleagues on board or from the land organization. Otherwise it doesn’t matter how well educated and trained you are.”
The right crew
The social interaction and well-being is very important on board any ship and perhaps even more so on smaller vessels with restricted space for recreation and small public rooms. On a ship with only five to seven people it is vital that you find the right crew members.
A“It is a question of both getting the job done and ensure the well-being on board. With a small crew there is no room for on-the-job training. Everybody must have certain experience and more or less know what to do from day one. At the same time it is important that the crew function together socially.”
AFurthermore, Fredrik Hjorth has studied accident reports and compared the journals for working hours with the log books on board the visited ships.
AIn 2004 the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) investigated 652 accidents on vessels with only two navigational officers. MAIB came to the conclusion that the workload on the crew is so heavy that it is difficult for them to fulfil their duties and still get enough rest and that this often leads to accidents.
ASwedish, Dutch and Japanese studies also point to the fact that most collisions and groundings that occur at night are due to fatigued operators, often in combination with lack of sufficient lookout.
AResearch shows that it is difficult for the officers to recuperate on board and that this might lead to a chronic state of fatigue that can have adverse effects on health and well-being.
ABut the small number of crew also implies other safety aspects than fatigue. A lot of work on board has to be carried out single-handed, sometimes in the dark and on a slippery deck, where no one can see if you get injured or fall overboard.
No lookouts
Another aspect is the lack of proper lookout. According to the STCW, watch keeping is to be done with two persons on the bridge. Exceptions can be and frequently are made for certain circumstances but only in daylight.
AHowever, none of the participating ships in the study had a lookout to accompany the officer on watch at night. A decision enforced by the necessity, but also the will of the crew, to operate the ship with a small crew and at the same time keep the vessel in good shape. In the report, a master is quoted:
A“Seen to the number of ABs on board and the tasks they have to perform, we wouldn’t even get food if they had to stand watch at night.”
AThe many working hours often result in violations of the regulations regarding work-time and rest period. Fredrik Hjorth says that the crew often feel that they have to adjust their working time records in order to comply with the regulations and quotes an officer as saying:
A“I tried to fill in my real working hours once, but the master lashed out and told me that he would never sign that since it did not comply with the regulations. Since then I never write anything else than cut-and-dried records.”
AAnother example from the report is a comparison between the records and the ship’s log book indicating that only two persons were working, when the ship moored in port. The rest of the crew were apparently sleeping.
ASupposedly, this adjustment of work hour records is known amongst the Administrations, but they choose not to act on it.
Paperwork
A growing part of the workload in contemporary shipping is administrative work. A task that the officer on watch is not allowed to do during watch, according to regulations.
A“ISM, ISPS, operational administration and environmental issues like garbage handling, all involve a lot of paper work and somebody must take care of it”, says Fredrik Hjorth.
AThe remaining question is when and by whom. If all the administrative duties are to be performed off the normal watch, it would mean an average of 1–2 hour longer days, naturally with an equally shorter time for sleep.
ASolutions suggested in the report include increasing the number of crew on board or moving tasks from the ship to the land organisation.
AWhen the results were presented, the report got a lot of attention in the media from various stakeholders. The media light was largely on the touching up of the working hour records and the seafarers, feeling that this is done with the tacit acceptance of the authorities.
AThe author of the report thinks the limelight should be pointed elsewhere;
A“The focus should really be on the crew and the pressure they take upon themselves in order to make everything work and their professional pride and will to do a good job.”
//Cecilia Österman
Latest update 16-04-2008 15:50 |
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2008
