Background: Seafarers are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), potentially due to a stressful working environment and behavioral risk factors. To develop better prevention strategies, it is important to elucidate the extent of this risk. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review on CVD in seafarers. Method: We conducted systematic searches in five databases. All studies investigating CVDs among occupational seafarers, published in articles or conference papers, were eligible for inclusion. The identified records were screened and reviewed by two independent researchers, who also evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies. Results: Three thousand nine hundred and seventeen records qualified for screening, and 55 were eligible for inclusion. Most of the studies were observational, including cohort, frequency, incidence or prevalence studies, and review of case records. Around half were assessed at risk of biased findings. Participants in the studies were primarily from North America or the European continent and work onboard transportation vessels. Many studies investigated CVDs as a cause of death, focusing on conditions such as CVD, ischemic heart disease, and myocardial infarction. Frequency of CVD conditions varied but indicate that seafarers face a greater risk compared to the reference populations or control groups. Environmental factors were mainly investigated as risk factors. Conclusion: Our results indicate a higher risk of CVDs among seafarers compared to reference or control groups. However, due to the variable quality of the evidence, well-designed studies are needed to establish the causes of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in seafarers and to investigate behavioral aspects of cardiovascular risk.
Objective: To study enablers of bullying and harassment in the work environment on board ships.
Method: A qualitative sub-study embedded within a large population-based cross-sectional survey of the prevalence of bullying and harassment on ships in the Danish merchant fleet. The sub-study is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews and responses to open-ended questions in the survey questionnaire. In total, 32 participants were interviewed face-to-face or online. The data was imported into NVivo and coded thematically.
Results: Four themes emerged as enablers specific to the work environment on a ship: The first theme, Isolation, covers how the crew -as a group, is physically isolated from the world outside the vessel, but also that new crew members can be challenged when trying to become established inside the groups on board. The second theme, Hierarchy, encompasses how challenging the existing hierarchy based on rank is not tolerated and that the hierarchy is often maintained through bullying and harassment. The third theme, Crewing, includes how diversity related to e.g., culture, language, gender, or age/experience may create another form of hierarchy with the same negative consequences as the hierarchy based on formal rank. The fourth theme, Leadership, covers how leadership can enable both a good and an unacceptable work environment related to bullying and harassment. Conclusion: Bullying and harassment pose serious challenges to the work environment on ships. Four themes were identified as enablers of bullying and harassment. Some are a premise, but others may be improved through continued awareness and focused educational initiatives.
This report presents both the quantitative and qualitative results of a study on bullying and harassment in the Danish merchant fleet. The Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs asked the
Danish Maritime Authority to conduct an external study of the extent of bullying and harassment among seafarers on Danish vessels. This task was assigned to the Centre of Maritime Health and Society at the University of Southern Denmark. The Commission for the study (in Danish) may be found on the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs website. The report consists of seven chapters, and only the results are presented, by request from the Danish Maritime Authority. An English “Literature review” is made in a separate annex, with an analysis of other international research studies within the area of bullying and harassment. This has been requested by the Danish Maritime Authority. It is permitted to quote the results in the report on the condition that the University of Southern Denmark and the Centre of Maritime Health and Society is credited as the source.
Studies have indicated that transportation noise is associated with higher cardiovascular mortality, whereas evidence of noise as a risk factor for respiratory and cancer mortality is scarce and inconclusive. Also, knowledge on effects of low-level noise on mortality is very limited. We aimed to investigate associations between road and railway noise and natural-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Danish population. We estimated address-specific road and railway noise at the most (LdenMax) and least (LdenMin) exposed façades for all residential addresses in Denmark from 1990 to 2017 using high-quality exposure models. Using these data, we calculated 10-year time-weighted mean noise exposure for 2.6 million Danes aged >50 years, of whom 600,492 died from natural causes during a mean follow-up of 11.7 years. We analyzed data using Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for individual and area-level sociodemographic variables and air pollution (PM2.5 and NO2). We found that a 10-year mean exposure to road LdenMax and road LdenMin per 10 dB were associated with hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of, respectively, 1.09 (1.09; 1.10) and 1.10 (1.10; 1.11) for natural-cause mortality, 1.09 (1.08; 1.10) and 1.09 (1.08; 1.10) for cardiovascular mortality, 1.13 (1.12; 1.14) and 1.17 (1.16; 1.19) for respiratory mortality and 1.03 (1.02; 1.03) and 1.06 (1.05; 1.07) for cancer mortality. For LdenMax, the associations followed linear exposure-response relationships from 35 dB to 60–<65 dB, after which the function levelled off. For LdenMin, exposure-response relationships were linear from 35 dB and up, with some levelling off at high noise levels for natural-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Railway noise did not seem associated with higher mortality in an exposure-response dependent manner. In conclusion, road traffic noise was associated with higher mortality and the increase in risk started well below the current World Health Organization guideline limit for road traffic noise of 53 dB.
I december 2019 kommer fiskeriminister Mogens Jensen hjem fra Rådsmøde - de årlige kvoteforhandlinger
for 2020 i Bruxelles - med den besked, at jomfruhummerfiskeriet i Kattegat i fremtiden vil blive underlagt
kameraovervågning for forventeligt at nedbringe bifangst af torsk i dette fiskeri. Torskebestanden i Kattegat
er yderst presset og den generelle kvote er sat til nul. En mindre bifangstkvote på torsk blev således betinget
af denne overvågning, så man kan monitere torskefangsterne og sikre mod et udsmid af mindre torsk i fiskeriet,
en praksis, som myndighederne forudsatte yderligere ville forværre tilstanden i torskebestanden. Denne sidste
kausalsammenhæng er dog tvivlsom.
Torsk er således blevet en ”stop-art” for jomfruhummerfiskeriet og myndighedernes argumentation er, at
alternativet til kameraovervågning er et stop for jomfruhummerfiskeriet i Kattegat, da det ikke kan opretholdes
uden en bifangstkvote af torsk (Bilag 5). Udkommet af forhandlingerne kender vi, men det har ikke været
muligt at få yderligere indblik i selve forhandlingsprocessen; Havde de danske forhandlere alternative
positioner at falde tilbage på? Havde den danske delegation en forventning til reaktionerne i den danske
fiskerisektor? Var forhandlerne indstillet på at lukke jomfruhummerfiskeriet i Kattegat (proportionalitet)? Det
får vi muligvis aldrig indsigt i.
Modern slavery and human trafficking present an inherent risk to workers engaged in operations surrounding shipping activities. One of the first statutes addressing the problem was the UK Modern Slavery Act [MSA], which presents several statutory sanctions for shipping companies in case of non-compliance. The article examines the sanctions available under different provisions of MSA as applied specifically to shipping activities.
As a further step, the article conducts an empirical analysis of the reporting practices of liner shipping operators, eligible for compliance under MSA. In addition to the rates of compliance, it engages in content analysis of the modern slavery statements, seeking to identify the uniform patterns of reporting and industry best practices.
The last part of the article discusses whether corporate undertakings as reported in modern slavery statements may serve as a ground for tort liability, similarly to the supply chain or ‘production liability’ emerging from group policies and codes of conduct.
Solid-state lithium battery (SSLB) is considered as the most potential energy storage device in the next generation energy system due to its excellent safety performance. However, there are still intimidating safety issues for the SSLB, due to it being still in the development stage. This paper gives an overview of the safety of SSLBs. First, advanced solid-state battery techniques are introduced. Second, the safety issues of SSLBs are discussed. Then, the safety enhancement techniques are provided. Finally, future research opportunities are presented. This paper aims to provide a reference for researchers in the fields of electronic and electrical engineering who want to make some efforts in SSLB safety.
Autonomous marine surface vehicles rely on computer systems with computer intelligence making decisions to assist or replace the navigating officer. A fundamental requirement for the design and implementation of such a cyber-physical system is seamless, predictable, and secure interoperability between vendor-specific hardware and software subsystems. The article describes a system design that includes mechanisms to mitigate the risks and consequences of software defects, individual component malfunction, and harmful cyber interference. It addresses international regulations in the field and demonstrates a system design that can meet the requirements for safe behaviour in foreseeable events while also having the ability to call for human assistance if the autonomous system is unable to handle a situation. The paper presents a design for highly automated vessels with several inherent risk-reducing features, including the ability to isolate and encapsulate abnormal behaviours, built-in features to support resilience to unexpected events, and mechanisms for internal defence against cyber-attacks. The article shows how this is provided by a novel middleware that supports risk mitigation, dependability, and resilience.
Background:
The third edition of the International Medical Guide for Ships (IMGS) was published in 2007 and supported a main principle of the newly adopted International Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006: to ensure that seafarers are given health protection and medical care as comparable as possible to that which is available to workers ashore. In 2021, the revisions and drafting of the fourth edition of the IMGS began. Taking the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, it was decided that a stakeholder study was necessary to ascertain the usefulness and practicality of the guide as well as provide input for which new topics to include.
Materials and methods:
The study applied data triangulation, with respondents from a geographically
broad sample of the International Maritime Organization‘s five regional areas of the world. The data was analysed using thematic analysis.
Results:
The results show that the IMGS is widely known and used among persons involved in medical care on board ships, but the IMGS is not as practical as stakeholders would wish it to be. For the guide to be useful, it must be ensured that telemedical advice information is included and if possible, ensure there is one single and global medical guide. Also, there is a need for new medical information, and respondents pointed to pandemic information, medicines list, medical chest, mental health issues, a women’s section, updated cardiopulmonary resuscitation instructions, human immune defect virus information (human immune defect-virus) and information on how seafarers may self-monitor and be monitored on board in relation to chronic diseases.
Conclusions:
Respondents understand a medicine chest on board is mandatory according to the MLC 2006, 98% are familiar with its content, and 86% use the IMGS.