BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a recognised risk factor for safety in seafaring. While always dangerous, fatigue in ferry shipping is especially hazardous as it may jeopardise passengers' safety. To counteract fatigue, knowledge on its determinants is important. Little, however, is known on the influence from physical and psychosocial work environment factors within ferry shipping. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between work stress in terms of physical stressors, perceived job demands and job control and different dimensions of fatigue among ferry ship employees and to test whether a potential effect of work stress was mediated by sleep satisfaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The design was cross-sectional. 193 respondents answered to a self-administered questionnaire including standardised scales, i.e. the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory and the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire for job demands and control. The association of risk factors with fatigue was determined using hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Physical work stressors were positively associated with only one of five fatigue subscales: lack of energy. Higher levels of demands were related to more lack of energy, lack of motivation, physical exertion and sleepiness, while more control was related to lesser lack of energy, lack of motivation and sleepiness. No demand-control interaction was found. Effects of demand and control were partly mediated by sleep satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Although limited by its cross-sectional design this study provides support for the independent relevance of demands and control for employee fatigue in ferry shipping and for a mediating role of sleep satisfaction.
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.
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.
Maritime medicine deals with the health of seafarers, fishermen, and offshore employees and, more specifically, with their employment, working and living conditions, and their health and safety at sea. Maritime doctors should have the appropriate training and competencies to provide the equivalent service as would be found on land. This review discusses a) the required skills and competencies of maritime doctors and b) explores the associated ongoing discussions for the establishment of a global accredited Masters programme in maritime health. A literature review was conducted using 2 databases: PubMed and Google scholar. Search terms included: maritime doctors, maritime medicine, occupational health, and skills and competencies. Literature published between 1990 and 2018 was prioritised. Thirty-five articles that discussed the skills, competencies, and education of maritime doctors and health professionals were retrieved, reviewed, and discussed, plus 8 reports and documents from relevant International Organisations webpages. We explored policies in relation to training using i) the health triangle and ii) the Kingdon model. Doctors who serve in the sector should have extensive knowledge about medical practice, but also about the environment of seafaring. The complexity of their roles, coupled with the provision of a high quality of services in global shipping, call for high quality accredited training and harmonisation of maritime health practices. The analysis of policy, using 2 policy models, showed that a window of opportunity appears to be in favour of a policy regarding the recognition of maritime medicine as a medical specialisation. International stakeholders, together with the International Maritime Health Association, should actively advocate such a perspective which will be in favour of seafarers, who will enjoy better health and wellbeing, with higher income while avoiding ill-health, as well as the shipping industry, which will employ satisfied and loyal employees, and will enjoy a higher reputation.
Background: Medical evacuations (MEDEVACs) from offshore installations are both costly and disruptive. Enhancing worker well-being may help reduce evacuations due to illness or injury, thereby maintaining the smooth operation of offshore activities and lowering financial burdens.
Objectives: This scoping review aims to identify whether illness or injury is the predominant cause of MEDEVACs from offshore oil and gas installations and to determine the most common types of illnesses or injuries involved. Additionally, the review outlines a future research agenda focusing on offshore worker health and well-being.
Materials and methods: A comprehensive structured search was conducted across the Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases, as well as through reference lists and grey
literature. Studies were included if they addressed MEDEVACs from offshore oil and gas installations. Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria.
Results: Articles indicate that non-occupational illnesses are more frequent causes of MEDEVACs than injuries. Among these, chest pain, cardiovascular issues, and dental problems were disproportionately represented. Contractor personnel were more likely to require evacuation than company employees. Additionally, younger workers were more likely to be evacuated due to injuries. Chronic health conditions were more common reasons for MEDEVACs among older workers. The review highlights the significant role of non-communicable diseases in contributing to MEDEVACs, as opposed to occupational exposures.
Conclusions: Investing in preventive health management, targeted research, and workforce education may substantially reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the offshore environment, lowering MEDEVAC rates, associated costs, and operational disruptions. Further investigation into the underlying causes of ill health among offshore workers is needed to enhance overall workforce well-being.
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.
The sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk significantly in the last decades. Partly as a result, the transport pattern has changed with more traffic in remote areas. This change may increase the risk of accidents. The critical factors are harsh weather, ice conditions, remoteness and vulnerability. In this paper we look into the risks of accidents in the Atlantic Arctic based on previous ship accidents and the changes in maritime activity. The risk has to be assessed to ensure a proper level of response in emergency situations. As accidents are rare, there are limited statistics available for Arctic marine accidents. Therefore, in this study a mostly qualitative analysis and expert judgement is the basis for the risk assessments. Implications for the emergency preparedness system of the region are discussed. The consequences of incidents depend on the incident type, scale and location,
Background
The aim of the study was to examine occupational accidents reported from non-passenger merchant ships registered in the Danish International Ship Register in 2010-2012, with a focus on analysing nationality differences in the risk of getting injured in an accident.
Methods
Data about notified occupational accidents were collected from notifications sent to the Danish Maritime Authority and from records of contact with Danish Radio Medical. Events were matched by personal identification and accident data to create a unified database. Stratified cumulative time spent on board by seafarers was used to calculate accident rates. Incidence rates of different nationalities were compared by Poisson regression.
Results
Western European seafarers had an overall accident rate of 17.5 per 100000 person-days, which proved to be significantly higher than that of Eastern European, South East Asian and Indian seaman (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.53, 0.51 and 0.74, respectively), although differences decreased over the investigated period. Smaller but in most cases still significant discrepancies were observed for serious injuries. The back injury rate of Western European employees was found especially high, while eye injuries seem to be more frequent among South East Asian workers.
Conclusions
The study identified substantial differences between nationalities in the rate of various accidents reported from merchant ships sailing under the Danish flag. The differences may be attributed to various factors such as safety behaviour. Investigation of special injury types and characterisation of effective elements of safety culture can contribute to the improvement of workplace safety in the maritime sector
The power system of an all-electric ship (AES) establishes an independent microgrid using the distributed energy resources, energy storage devices, and power electronic converters. As a hybrid energy system (HES), the power system of an AES works as a unified system where each part can affect the reliability of the other parts. The systemic reliability centered maintenance (SRCM), which efficiently enhances the reliability and safety of the AES by identifying optimal maintenance tasks of the AES, is considered in this article to apply to the entire system. In order to calculate the reliability and optimal maintenance schedule, the Markov process and Enhanced JAYA (EJAYA) are utilized. A layer of protection analysis (LOPA), which is a risk management technique, is adopted to assess the safety of the system. A hybrid molten carbonate fuel cell, photovoltaic (PV), and lithium-ion battery are considered as energy sources of the AES. Based on two common standards, DNVGL-ST-0033 and DNVGL-ST-0373, the suggested maintenance planning method can be used in industrial applications. Eventually, in order to validate the proposed method, a model-in-the-loop real-time simulation using dSPACE is carried out. The obtained results show the applicability and efficiency of the proposed method for improving reliability and 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.