Fatigue at Sea

"25% of all ships caused 51% of marine accidents andface marine accidents as there are more possibilities
one reason behind these accidents is seafarers'of machinery failures. In such ships, panic workload
fatigue"- DNV study reveals.increases seafarers' fatigue.
Sailing industry is well acquainted with the increase ofSometimes, small shipping companies minimize their
seafarers' fatigue onboard. All shipping personalitiesexpenses by appointing less seafarer in poorly
and decision makers are well-aware of the damagesmaintained ships. This causes fatigue of seafarers and
that fatigue may cause to the life span of the humanfinally lead to marine accidents due to human error.
as well as to the environment. Stay away from homeOutcome of fatigue:
for long period, limited communication and consistentlyLot of statistical review findings reveal close
high work loads on seafarers are the reasons, whichconnections between fatigue and accident at sea,
are traced to cause seafarers' fatigue.caused from less manning and long working hours. In
This may further lead to performance reducing,recent years, many accidents have occurred because
environmental damage, ill-health and reduced life-spanof crew-errors who were suffering from physical
of highly skilled seafarers. Healthy crewing and safetydifficulties. These physical difficulties also lead to mental
at sea are other issues but not the least, which willhealth issues like anxiety, depression and sleeping
obviously suffer.disorders. Researches also find that the current
What is Fatigueworking conditions of seafarers, especially
Physical Fatigue and Mental Fatigue are the two typesunder-manning, have increased the risk leading to fatal
of Fatigue. Loss of productivity is the primaryinjuries and consequences.
symptom of fatigue at its earlier stages which followsMeasures to Prevent fatigue:
by accidents within the ship or cause groundings,Currently, 'Fatigue' is the most severe and widespread
collisions even to the extent of sinking of ships at thefactor that the sailing industry is facing and there is a
advanced stages.strong need to create awareness on this issue. The
Literary reviewindustry should emphasize fatigue as a serious health
Research and literary review, although less, illustrateand safety issue. The manning levels should be
'fatigue' as a major problem allied with excessive workapproached in a realistic way. Ships that are poorly
hours, odd shift pattern, poor sleep quality, negativemaintained with insufficient seafarers should not be
environmental factors, high job demands and highallowed to sail as well as the rest period of seafarers
stress. Adverse work condition, health disorder,should be lengthened. Additional burden of paperwork
frequent port visits are also some documented factorsrelated to security issues should be minimized. Proper
nurturing fatigue. The outcome of this fatigue istraining and guidance regarding avoidance of fatigue
increased human error boosts the risk of collisions,should be offered and this should be supplemented
groundings and risk of personal injury and injury towith the healthy working conditions onboard. Finally, an
others.urgent holistic approach to solve out the problem of
Some more causes that provoke fatigue at sea are:fatigue is needed that can benefit the industry as a
Usually, ships with age of more than15 sea years maywhole.