Fatigue factor in ship accidents

Poor judgement by staff contributed to many accidents, MAIB said

Fatigue among sailors on merchant ships caused a "worrying number" of collisions or near misses in 2004, the chief maritime investigator says.

Poor judgement or anticipation by officers on watch - "classic symptoms on fatigue" - also contributed, said Stephen Meyer in his annual report.

Maritime union Numast agreed with Mr Meyer, adding it was "a miracle that there had not been a major accident".

It described the continuing level of fatigue as "scandalous".

'Depressing'

Mr Meyer said that while the details of the accidents varied, "the fundamentals remain depressingly consistent".

In 2004, the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) conducted a safety study covering 1,600 accidents over the last 10 years, 66 of which were examined in detail.

The main concern was the lack of staff on certain cargo vessels plying the short sea trade, leading many to falsify their timesheets.

Sooner or later, there'll be a really big accident involving a ship carrying passengers or nuclear waste or some other dangerous cargo Andrew Linington Numast spokesman

"With only two watchkeepers, even if they did nothing but their bridge watches, they would work an 84-hour week," Mr Meyer said.

"But with routine paperwork, cargo work, maintenance, entering and leaving harbours, inspections, loading/unloading, passage planning etc., their actual working hours are much longer.

"It is an anachronism in the 21st Century, that seafarers are falsifying their timesheets to prove that they are working only a 98-hour week."

No enforcement

Numast spokesman Andrew Linington said research underway showed half of shipmasters did not get the required amount of rest.

Half felt this lack of rest was a potential threat to their own safety, and one-third felt it was a risk to the ship's safety.

"Although we have had working time limits for the past four years, the situation has actually got worse, but essentially there is no decent enforcement of the rules," Mr Linington said.

He highlighted the case of an officer who fell asleep on watch, and was awoken when the ship ran aground 30 minutes later.

The officer had had five hours sleep in the preceding 24 hours, but if he had complained to union or management, he would have been sacked under the terms of his contract, the union said.

Fishing vessels lost

"Sooner or later, there'll be a really big accident involving a ship carrying passengers or nuclear waste or some other dangerous cargo," he said.

"The potential for catastrophe is huge."

Of 1,500 cases referred to the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch, there were 31 full investigations, 34 preliminary examinations and 697 administrative enquiries.

Mr Meyer was also concerned about the loss of 24 fishing vessels during 2004.

The percentage of the UK fishing fleet lost each year had remained broadly steady for the past 10 years - a "disappointing" statistic for Mr Meyer.