Study: Seafarers Report Fatigue, Anxiety and Lack of Access to Medical Care

Work-related fatigue among seafarers has increased, despite efforts to monitor work and rest regulations on ships reports a new study by Cardiff University. According to the researchers, seafarers working both on cargo and cruise ships highlighted issues related to health and welfare that should be improved.

The analysis, from the Seafarers International Research Centre, was based on anonymous questionnaires and interviews with 1,240 cargo ship workers and 1,202 cruise sector crewmembers. Professor Helen Sampson, director of Cardiff University’s Seafarers’ International Research Centre highlights that the results were being released within days of reports of a watch officer falling asleep and the cargo ship he was navigating running aground in Norway, narrowly missing a house.

“Despite better monitoring of staff work/rest hours, fatigue remains an intractable problem for seafarers,” says Professor Sampson. “Evidence shows there are many instances of work/rest hours records being falsified to conceal overwork – but even when the Maritime Labour Convention is followed, seafarers can still be left without enough rest. An overhaul of work/rest hours regulations is long overdue. The regulations need to be changed to provide for an uninterrupted rest period for all seafarers which is aligned with the recommended levels of sleep for adults."

The data from the study reveals that more than a third of cargo ship crewmembers who were on board a ship when they completed the questionnaire reported that they had not had enough sleep in the past 48 hours. Seafarers stated that they did not get enough sleep because of the number of hours they worked, the patterns of work they observed, their port duties, vessel movement, and noise.

Professor Sampson reports that these issues have increased since similar data was collected in 2016 and 2011. A higher number of cargo ship workers she reports also described insufficient sleep due to work-related anxiety, general anxiety, and homesickness than in previous surveys. Insufficient sleep as a result of work-related anxiety was a particularly acute problem among senior officers.

Other findings show that in almost one in five cases, cargo seafarers who had experienced a serious injury or illness did not have medical attention when they needed it. There was normally no access to a qualified medic on board, with patchy telemedical assistance being provided until they arrived in port.

“It is also clear that access to medical care on board cargo ships is woefully inadequate, with no medically qualified person on board in the event of an emergency,” says Sampson. “Having a trained medic on board would ensure workers are not left suffering for long periods if they are injured or ill when far from land.”

The reports also focus on the experiences of cruise ship workers, with just under half of the 950 participants who were at sea when surveyed feeling they had not had sufficient sleep in the previous 48 hours. Work hours and work patterns were the main reasons for insufficient sleep. Almost one in 10 cruise workers also described a medical condition that they attributed directly to their work, although most had access to a qualified doctor on board.

“There are many areas where improvements can be made to protect the health and wellbeing of seafarers in the cruise and cargo sectors,” concludes Sampson. “The provision of facilities which seafarers can use for therapeutic purposes such as baths and saunas, increased access to shore leave, and the provision of good quality food would all be important inclusions in a holistic effort to protect and promote seafarers’ health and wellbeing.”

This research was funded by the Stiftelsen Sveriges Sjömanshus (Swedish Seamen's House Foundation) and received some additional support from the Sjöbefälsföreningen (Swedish Naval Officers' Association trade union).