Page No. 1-13: Seafarer Fatigue: Are We Receptive Towards Its Consequences

Abstract

Seafarers’ fatigue has been identified as a contributing factor in a number of maritime accidents. While regulatory authorities have proposed certain minimum guidelines to manage fatigue, the expectation of the stakeholders is that the seafarers are responsible to manage and tolerate fatigue as part of their working life at sea. The current demands of the shipping, with no or little support from the shore based personnel, makes a seafarer highly fatigued, compromising the safety of the ship. Recent researches on seafarers highlight the fatigue-related problems peculiar to the shipping industry. Through this paper an attempt is made to sensitize the stakeholders to seafarer fatigue, with the aim of finding suitable solutions.