Background: Fishing is a risky occupation as injuries and fatalities in fishing vessels are quite common. This paper investigates the pattern of injuries aboard fishing vessels in Denmark to get a better understanding of areas where further action is needed to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in Danish fishing vessels. Materials and methods: Data for this study, extracted from the Danish Fishermen’s Occupational Health Service’s database (in the period 1998–2012) and the Danish Maritime Authority’s accident report from 2013 to 2016, include 1840 injuries in Danish fisheries. Result: The results showed decreased injuries in the study period from 45 injuries and deaths per 1000 fishermen reported to the authorities to 12 injuries and deaths per 1000 fishermen in 2016: 2.1% (n = 39) of all reported injuries in the study period resulted in the death of a fisherman and the remaining injuries resulted in sick leave of more than one day; 52.5% (n = 600) of reported injuries involved fishermen who have less than one year’s experience of employment; 29% (n = 407) of injuries took place between 12:00 and 16:00, and the second largest number of injuries, 23.3% (n = 324), took place between 8:00 and 12:00. The incident rate of slip/fall injuries has decreased from 10.06 per 1000 fishermen in 1998 to 3.84 in 2016. The incidence rate of injuries caused by crushing also decreased, from 9.32 accidents per 1000 fishermen in 1998 to 2.56 in 2016. Most of the injuries, 74.5% (n = 1307), happened on the deck of the vessel. Sprain/strain was among the most common injuries (34.2%; n = 538) followed by fracture (24.8%; n = 391). Conclusion: This study indicated that the number of injuries had been gradually decreasing in Danish commercial fishing vessels in the period from 1998 to 2016. The rate of injuries had been declining due to several initiatives such as the establishment of The Danish Fishermen’s Occupational Health Services, training, safety campaigns, technological improvement and structural changes in fisheries management. However, there are still places for improvement.
ABSTRACT: Climate change provides for improved conditions for maritime navigation and results in increased activity in the Arctic. Those increased activities influence the safety at sea and risk of accidents. A disaster as the Costa Concordia incident would have far more serious consequences in Greenlandic waters than it had in Italy, therefore the question of prevention and disaster-preparedness is crucial. One approach to avoid risks is to create specific legislation. The legal system guiding safe navigation of cruise ships in/around Greenlandic waters is complex: the legal regime for navigation is set in different general and specific international, regional and national legal acts, partly non-binding, therefore issues of effectiveness arise. Safety is also influenced by practical issues, e.g. the lack of sufficient nautical charts for Greenlandic waters and “preparedness” at land to handle potential disasters, such as the SAR-system and preparedness of different actors, for example hospitals.
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.
Background: Fatigue is a concern in ferry shipping as it has a negative impact on crew members health and plays a major role in marine incidents and accidents. Research within land-based occupational settings has found that work-family conflict is an important risk factor for fatigue and that support from leaders constitutes a possible resource with the potential to buffer a negative impact from work-family conflict. Though, the working conditions of ferry shipping are likely to interfere with employee's family life those two factors have received little attention in research on seafarers' health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the direct associations between work-family conflict as well as leaders' support with fatigue in employees of the Danish ferry shipping industry. Further, the study aimed at testing whether support could buffer potential detrimental associations between work-family conflict and fatigue. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional, and 193 respondents answered to a self-administered questionnaire. Fatigue was measured with the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory. Perceived work-family conflict and perceived supervisor support were assessed with two subscales from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. The association of potential risk factors with fatigue was determined using hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses. Results: After controlling for confounding, work-family conflict was found to be positively associated with four of the five subdimensions of fatigue; lack of energy, physical discomfort, lack of motivation and sleepiness, while more support from supervisors was related to less lack of energy, physical exhaustion and lack of motivation. Further, supervisor support was found to moderate the effect from work-family conflict on the physical subdimensions of fatigue. Conclusion: Although restricted by its cross-sectional design and a limited sample, this study provides support for the independent relevance of work family conflict and support from nearest superior for employee fatigue in ferry shipping. Further, there was evidence for a moderating role of such support on the negative impact of work-family conflict on the physical aspects of fatigue. Shipping companies may consider commencing initiatives which reduce conflicts between family life and work obligations, and that leader support may be a relevant component in such initiatives.
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.
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.
Given the move toward automation, an increased focus on the liability for technical defects must be anticipated. This brings into play liability regimes that have traditionally been less used in the maritime area. One of these liability regimes is product liability. It is the purpose of this contribution to examine the implications of product liability rules in the maritime area, seen in light of the automation of ships.
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.