Costa Concordia sinking, and how it impacts India

Most of the articles on the subject of the sinking after the absolutely rash behaviour of the ship and people onboard the Costa Concordia seem to focus on the navigational and behavioural aspects of the whole episode. However, there are other issues of ship design, stability, documentation, alcohol onboard and more, which also need to be fleshed out.

Here's the first article by me on the subject.

http://www.moneylife.in/article/costa-concordia-capsizingmdash-and-how-it-impacts-india/23041.html

Costa Concordia capsizing— and how it impacts India...
January 18, 2012 08:31 AM |
Veeresh Malik

How did the Costa Concordia simply keel over and capsize so quickly after being breached? Slightly deeper waters and she would have simply gone down, with no trace on the surface. Half exposed, she is going to be like that for a long time now, as a daily reminder to an industry slow on pro-active steps for better ships

As a leading provider of maritime workers to the world, not just technical but now increasingly in the hospitality and catering part of matters maritime too, thesinking of the Italian passenger liner ‘Costa Concordia’ impacts India in more ways than just the 300-odd Indian families whose bread-winners worked onboard what turns out to be a case of alleged criminal activity by a master and his complete set of navigating and other officers onboard. Variously being referred to as ‘grounding’ or ‘accident’, it is clear to all that this was an episode which was the result of a top-down failure of any form of responsible behaviour, from the owners and operators ashore to the junior-most officer onboard.

Not just the captain. In other words, if the captain was doing something, which was criminal to the point of being insane, then there were enough alternates available to counter such activities. In the so-called “good old days” the concept of being a “crack skipper” did not mean that the ‘Old Man’ was a psycho, but to be frank, it was close enough. And as long as they got the job done, some eccentricities were not just tolerated, but often treated as virtues. A life at sea is not easy, simple as that and the special breed of men and women needed have to be given latitude. It is even tougher on passenger ships, where the cargo tends to be far more demanding, since it is on two feet.

Going too close to rocks or shoals for sight-seeing, however, is not part of it. Certainly, there were navigators in the old days, present company included, who would venture to go close to Dieo Garcia to see if they could ‘spook’ the Americans into launching aircraft to chase them away, or head right next to Krakatova to take photographs of the volcano, or, most commonly, hug the Portuguese Coast when in the Atlantic so that the Goans on board could get a glimpse—but even then, in cargo ships with far less windage and certainly lesser potential loss of lives, the distance away from any features was in miles, not metres.

The Costa Concordia tried to get to within 150-200 metres of a known shoal. It was over 300 metres long, 35 metres wide, and even trying to turn away fromthe rocks would bring it closer, because the stern would swing into the turn towards the rocks, even before the bow would swing away—that is the nature of ships. Add uncertain winds close to shore, the natural attraction of land masses and ships, and a novice sailor on a dinghy would stay clear.

But then again, the bigger question is, what were the other people doing while this master apparently took actions which were not just stupid but criminal?

Consider the following:

# Even basic cargo ships are now equipped with data loggers that send live reports on a variety of parameters to shipping company offices ashore. It is SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) to keep a 24x7 watch on the progress of the assets afloat, multi-million dollars worth of ship, cargo and lives onboard. Just one of many reasons—the risk of environmental pollution due to leakage of oil, and the liabilities that follow—keeps people on board on their toes, aware that their every move is not just being tracked for analysis ashore, but also watched and listened to in real time. These parameters include status in live feed on aspects such as navigation, engine, performance, weather routing, even rest hours of crew working on board. Anything even whispered on the bridge or engine room can and is heard ashore.

# It is far more stringent on passenger ships. The days when a master of a ship was the last word on what happened on a ship have vanished quite some time back. A deviation from a course laid out, especially landwards into dangerous waters, would typically raise alarms and escalations at a variety of levels onboard and ashore. Analysing by hind-sight is always 20/20, but in this case, there is no way that such a violent deviation to within metres of an island would not have required an escalation to a person ashore with authority over the master. Such a person or persons is known as a DPA (Designated Person Ashore) and every ship afloat has to have more than one, so that action, if required, can be guided also from ashore.

# That such alarms on board and ashore were not recognised or responded to can only imply that either the whole lot of the people involved were celebrating a late night, on a Friday, or that this was done with full complicity of all involved. It can also be conjectured that the famous “over-ride” switches came into play, but not only on the ship—this would have happened ashore also. If there is a case that voice and data transmission from a ship is disconnected, then that gives rise to an even higher level of response and accountability. To blame only the master on board in such a case would again be incorrect—there are people ashore whose job it is to see that such direct violations do not occur.

# And finally, most importantly, it is a basic rule of Bridge Team Management, or any form of relationship between senior and junior officers on board, that a junior officer is given the full liberty to escalate or even in some cases countermand an order that is so obviously dangerous. The days when a master could browbeat a junior officer are over—even the junior-most officer on the bridge or crew member on lookout or helm duties, or even the catering person making coffee, has the authority to pick up one of many sat-phones on board and call the DPA directly, to inform him that he can see the porch lights of the houses they are passing, so close are they to the coast. This authority, the right to call the DPA on 24x7 basis using the ship’s communication gear if required, is printed and pasted all over the ship including in every mess-room and alleyway on every ship.

So how then, does this impact India?

The now not so recent phenomenon of piracy in and around the Horn of Africa leading to a total revamp on ocean routings in the Arabian Sea has brought ships on international passages unrelated to India to within miles of the Indian coast. There is the most obvious risk of ocean-going ships of all sorts not familiar with Indian coastal waters coming far too close.

But more than that, other issues impacting India in context with a far-awaysinking are:

# Higher insurance premiums which shall be spread across all the fleets of the world as a direct result of the huge claims that shall certainly be raised on the Costa Concordia and their insurers and then their re-insurers. Liabilities on western fleets are much higher and the insurance industry, in its wisdom and no doubt with lesser resistance, is known to spread the downside to the rest of the non-complaining world. Alert readers may recall how the aviation industry globally paid for September 11—similar or even bigger aviation-related disasters in the developing world have never raised such huge bills for the rest of the world to carry.

# Disquieting reports on the issue of language unfamiliarity with the Indian crew on board are surfacing through the grapevine, as well as issues of their certification and documentation, which are both not surprising. The saloon and catering crew is also supposed to be trained in basic life-saving and fire-fighting as well as passenger ship safety and crowd management techniques. The reality, as is well known, is something different. A walk to the Shipping Master’s office at Ballard Estate in Mumbai will provide an inkling of how similar it is to the RTOs and passport offices in this context. It is also a fact that Italian maritime certification also leaves a lot to be desired.

# A further increase in certification of safety required on board passenger ships, which will impact the already depleted fleet of passenger ships available to us in India for coastal, coast-to-island and inter-island ferries. This is in addition to the ships required for riverine movement of passengers. Viewed in isolation, this is good from the single point objective of safety, but in reality it spells even more delays. The truth on connectivity by sea of India’s islands is pathetic, if not worse, and this episode will further alienate our islands.

Bigger passenger ship and ferry disasters take place in Asian and African waters frequently. Hundreds of lives are lost and often this does not spark more than passing attention and one reason is simply because those ships are often more than decrepit. The other reasons are too racist to mention here.

But ships like the Costa Concordia, amongst the biggest and costliest passenger ships that ever sailed the oceans, are not supposed to sink like this. Leave aside the human element, ship-design, especially recent passenger ship design, is supposed to take care of one major aspect not too many people are talking about.

And that is—how did the Costa Concordia simply keel over and capsize so quickly after being breached? Slightly deeper waters and she would have simply gone down, with no trace on the surface. Half exposed, she is going to be like that for a long time now, as a daily reminder to an industry slow on pro-active steps for better ships.

A lot of passenger ships in developed countries are now going to come on the block after this incident, because there is an inherent flaw in their design, which provokes such rapid flooding and then sinking. There is bound to be a major change in design, and that will include much stronger vertical segregation, as against the continuous decks so commonly seen nowadays on cruise ships of this sort.

And these old-design ships will land up, where else, but in our waters.

That’s the biggest risk we foresee.

(Veeresh Malik started and sold a couple of companies, is now back to his first love—writing. He is also involved actively in helping small and midsize family-run businesses re-invent themselves. Mr Malik had a career in the Merchant Navy which he left in 1983, qualifications in ship-broking and chartering, a love for travel, and an active participation in print and electronic media as an alternate core competency, all these and more.)

SAVE OUR SEAFARERS / (SAVE OUR SAILORS) / SOS

Here's a link to an article on the experiences of the South Korean captain of a ship hijacked by the Somali pirates, and used as a "mother ship" to capture other ships.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/02/16/58/0301000000AEN20110216006600315F.HTML

Suffice it to say, the piracy issue gets worse for seafarers by the hour, without much being done in the real sense of the word - especially for those sailing on FOC / Open Register ships.

So what should we do?

Watch this space.

As part of a SAILOR TODAY initiative, we will be launching an initiative, very soon.

SAVE OUR SEAFARERS. Really. SOS.

Regine Brett - at 90

Lady called Regina Brett wrote this when she turned 90 - and I read it years ago, came back to me when I was looking for something else. Sounds good, so here's this for all the young and younger seafarers . . .

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of "The Plain Dealer", Cleveland , Ohio . . . "to celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come...
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

So, you get it?

The MLC 2010 - a view from June 2009 . . .

Here's something I wrote on the MLC-2010 about a year and a half ago.

Big question - will the MLC 2010 just mean yet another youngish inspector with attitude onboard ships, and now in office, too?

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Probably the most important maritime legislation coming our way is the "Consolidated Maritime Labour Convention" (CMLC). This is an amalgamation of all the various International Labour Organisation (ILO) instruments, documents and all other regulations and codes that pertain to life for seafarers - that's over 50 such international labour standards, some going as far back as the 1920s.. While the ratification and implementation criteria are already defined, and the pre-requisites for introducing it in practice are already in place, it will still be around 2011-2012 before it actually comes into effect.

What that means, in simple English, is that life at sea for law-abiding flags and seafarers onboard is about to change. Very much. The big thing it lays out is the right of seafarers to decent living and working conditions. Worldwide. In addition, at first glance, it is easy to read, and involves the view of both seafarers as well as owners/operators. And ofcourse, environmental protection - an even bigger subject under this one now.

The parts which will really interest those still at sea or planning to go to sea,  from the specific point of view of being a "shippie", which we can expect to see covered and implemented in very quick order, are laid out in brief. Broadly, these are divided into the following categories:-

1) the minimum requirements for seafarers to work onboard ships.

2) conditions of employment.

3) accomodation, recreation facilities, food and catering.

4) health protection, welfare, medical care and social protection.

5) compliance and enforcement.

So will shipping truly become the world's first global industry, with equal standards for all, regardless of nationality of individual or flag of vessel or any other differentiators? Wait, there is much more - and it probably also spells much better opportunity for seafarers who are ready to understand what is going on.

However, first off, look at the exemptions. Coastal ships, "traditional" vessels like dhows and junks, ships below a certain size, fishing vessels and some other specific types are exempted. But even there, fact remains, some amount of global standards would rub off eventually. Just see the level of sophistication and electronic equipment available on some of the dhows plying in and around the Gulf lately, for example, they put some 10-20 year old ships to shame. There is in all likelihood a "catch-up" kind of scenario going to exist here. First off, hopefully the "launches" at Gateway of India are improved.

On the other hand, the rules for implementation and ensuring adherence have just become tougher, and give Port State Control even wider and often sweeping powers. For example, Article V.6 of this Convention states very clearly that:- " Members shall prohibit violations of the requirements of this Convention and shall, in accordance with international law, establish sanctions or require the adoption of corrective measures under their laws that are adequate to discourage such violations [wherever they occur]." Ship detention can now be resorted to for simply being from a flag that did not ratify this convention, never mind adherence otherwise to the letter and spirit, which is a significant addition to and also rather important departure from the inspection based regime currently in force. Yours could be the best ship in the world, but if your flag was not adhering, then you can be detained - simple as that.

The next big thing is definition of a "seafarer". For the first time, this definition goes beyond the traditional navigator, engineer, saloon and other departments at sea - it now brings in a simple definition:- ""any person who is employed, engaged or works in any capacity on board a ship that is covered by the Convention."". That's really, really wide. Hotel workers onboard? Temporary "flying crew" joining a ship for repairs? Pilots, port or deep-sea? Cadets? Even workers from stevedoring gangs, discharging the ship? Writers, like yours truly, sailing on board for any reason soon? Training personnel?

But the biggest change is, as always, in the commercial aspects. Ships from non-complying countries will no longer be able to pose unfair and cheaper competition to those from complying countries. This is where the convention in a manner of speaking, "comes ashore". Will the laws cover everything from basic bills of lading onwards, to newer multi-modal documents, and would this then impact insurance as well as possible post-facto increase in commercially agreed on terms and conditions, as well as costs?

The debate may have just begun, the implementation is not in doubt. Overall, in this correspondent's opinion, this is a very welcome legislation for everyone.

Now let's be there to implement it? To do that, you first have to read it. All of it. Why wait for a "course", when it is there on the internet, with commentary and all?

+++

Veeresh Malik is pleasantly surprised, after a decade in the infotech industry, to see the high level of international codification and improvement in things Mercantile Marine. Both at sea and ashore.

Fatigue at Sea (LLLLOOOOng POST)

Many decades ago, there was once an uproar over the quality of food on trains as well as separately, the quality of service by telephone operators in India. Since both were Government monopolies, the matter went all the way to the top, and in due course of time, a very precise response was returned, which said that, inter-alia, basis the number of passengers who travelled everyday and the number of phone calls made everyday, the number of complaints was very small. Which further then implied that all was fine. All is well.

Mathematically, this was certainly correct, but all of us know what the quality of railway food and telephone servcies used to be like - regardless of whether we made a complaint or not. All was certainly not well, but most of us chose to keep quiet and ignore matters, suffering the consequences.

Likewise, there is absolutely no co-relation between the number of hours worked at sea in a year by all seafarers and the number of complaints for fatigue by a seafarer, truth be told - if your shipmate prefers a medical visit with a complaint for "fatigue", then other than being laughed out of the smoke-room, he will also probably never be given a job again.

So, when I first discussed this subject of fatigue with batchmates and friends in the ship-management and ship-owning business, I was told variously that:-

a) It was not macho to be concerned about complaints of fatigue on board; after all, life ashore was not easy either, and life on ships was not for the weak and faint-hearted.

b) Any attempt to even try to quantify actual working conditions on board would misfire, since other nationalities were willing to send their people to work even longer hours.

At the root of everything, ofcourse, is the rather controversial 98 hours per week status. As has often been reported, the Merchant Navy is probably the only profession in the world where people have to falsify their work-sheets to show that they have not worked over 98 hours. That, incidentally, is a higher number than most airline crew end up working in the course of a month.

So here are some more fatigue at sea statistics, gathered from a variety of sources:-

# The average sleep duration for mariners at sea is 6.6 hours per 24-hour cycle, in the course of a typical 4 month contract.

# Watchkeepers at sea obtain their sleep in fragments, median time achieved here is less than 5 hours at a stretch.

# The 4-8 watchkeeper has it worst, getting less than a total of 4 hours of sleep for about a quarter of the days on board.
(Source:- Work hours, sleep patterns and fatigue among merchant marine personnel:-

THOMAS F. SANQUIST 1 MIREILLE RABY 1 ALICE FORSYTHE 1 ANTONIO B. CARVALHAIS 2

1 Battelle Seattle Research Centre, Seattle, WA, USA 2 United States Coast Guard Research and Development Centre Groton, CT, USA )

+++

Getting straight to the views of governance in India, here is what Mr. P.H. Krishnan, deputy director-general of shipping, said to the newspaper DNA, on the high stress levels and disasters at sea:-

Q:- Every-time there is an accident (now mv Rezzak has gone missing off the Turkish coast) on the high seas, there are theories about how high-stress levels among sailors act as a contributing factor to the disasters. Is there a direct correlation?

A:- Yes, there is. Sailors on board merchant vessels remain on the high seas for six months at a stretch. Internal surveys have revealed that there is a high degree of fatigue among a 16- or 17-member ship crew. Also, there is a dearth of effective co-ordination and communication among the crew as they come from various ethnic backgrounds. All the above factors cumulatively lessen response capabilities in the sailors in times of emergencies, leading to the heightened possibility of disasters due to poor manoeuvring and navigation of the ship.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_ship-crews-face-high-degree-of-fatigue-at-sea_1152952

So now we know what the Government, the same one that ratifies conventions leading to 98 hour working weeks on ships, has to say.

+++

According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) "fatigue can be defined in many ways. However, it is generally described as a state of feeling tired, weary, or sleepy that results from prolonged mental or physical work, extended periods of anxiety, exposure to harsh environments, or loss of sleep. The result of fatigue is impaired performance and diminished alertness."

and

DEFINING FATIGUE:-

There is no universally accepted technical definition for fatigue. However, common to all the definitions is degradation of human performance. The following definition is found in IMO’s MSC/Circ.813/MEPC/Circ.330, List of Human Element Common terms: “A reduction in physical and/or mental capability as the result of physical, mental or emotional exertion which may impair nearly all physical abilities including: strength; speed; reaction time; coordination; decision making; or balance.”

+++

Some inputs from the Exxon Valdez case, now over two decades old, details of which are available free of copyright on the Internet.

One of the findings of the Exxon Valdez (1989) investigation conducted by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was that "there were no rested deck officers on the Exxon Valdez available to stand the navigation watch when the vessel departed from the Alyeska Terminal." It is interesting at this time to note that regulations already existed mandating rest periods for watchstanders. With this in mind, the NTSB report recommended "rigorous" enforcement of current regulations concerning watchstander time off, as well as increasing manning levels . . . this report also addressed the growing tendency toward reducing crew sizes by stating the "Exxon Shipping Company manning policies do not adequately consider the increase in workload caused by reduced manning."

It is interesting to observe that the concept of fatigue weighs so heavily in recent maritime accident investigations that almost all reports on accidents at sea invariably contain a section on fatigue, even if fatigue played little or no role.

+++

Adopted on 20 November, 1973, IMO Resolution A.285(8), Recommendation on Basic Principles and Operational Guidance Relating to Navigation Watchkeeping, only briefly mentioned fatigue in Annex A(b)(ii) when talking about fitness for duty by stating that "The watch system shall be such that the efficiency of the watchkeeping members of the crew is not impaired by fatigue. Accordingly the duties shall be so organized that the first watch at the commencement of a voyage and the subsequent relieving watches are sufficiently rested and otherwise fit when going on duty."

That sounds very nice. But in actual fact, what does it mean?

+++

IMO issued Resolution A.772(18) on 4 November 1993, entitled Fatigue Factors in Manning and Safety, which was an entire 4 page document dedicated to defining fatigue, identifying specific shipboard related fatigue factors and tasking shipboard management with specific responsibilities in mitigating these factors.

http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id%3D2476/1014.pdf

It must be recognized that the seafarer is a captive of the work environment. Firstly, the average seafarer spends between three to six months working and living away from home, on a moving vessel that is subject to unpredictable environmental factors (i.e. weather conditions). Secondly, while serving on board the vessel, there is no clear separation between work and recreation. Thirdly, today’s crew is composed of seafarers from various nationalities and backgrounds who are expected to work and live together for long periods of time. The operational aspects associated with shipping become more complex compared with standard industries, for reasons such as: variety of ship-types, pattern and length of sea passage, port-rotation, and length of time a ship remains in port. All these aspects present a unique combination of potential causes of fatigue.

The most common causes of fatigue known to seafarers are lack of sleep, poor quality of rest, stress and excessive workload.

A. Crew-specific Factors

The crew-specific factors are related to lifestyle behavior, personal habits and individual attributes. However, fatigue varies from one person to another and its effects are often dependent on the particular activity being performed.

The Crew-specific Factors include the following:

• Sleep and Rest:- - Quality, Quantity and Duration of Sleep, - Sleep Disorders/Disturbances, - Rest Breaks
• Biological Clock/Circadian Rhythms
• Psychological and Emotional Factors, including stress:- - Fear, - Monotony and Boredom
• Health:- - Diet, - Illness
• Stress:- - Skill, knowledge and training as it relates to the job, - Personal problems, - Interpersonal relationships
• Ingested Chemicals:- - Alcohol, - Drugs (prescription and non-prescription), - Caffeine
• Age
• Shiftwork and Work Schedules
• Workload (mental/physical)
• Jet Lag

B. Management Factors (ashore and aboard ship)

The Management Factors relate to how ships are managed and operated. These factors can potentially cause stress and an increased workload, ultimately resulting in fatigue. These factors include:

1. Organizational Factors

• Staffing policies and Retention, Role of riders and shore personnel, Paperwork requirements, Economics, Schedules-shift, Overtime, Breaks; Company culture and Management style, Rules and Regulations, Resources, Upkeep of vessel, Training and Selection of crew.

2. Voyage and Scheduling Factors

• Frequency of port calls, Time between ports, Routing, Weather and Sea condition on route, Traffic density on route, Nature of duties/workload while in port.

C. Ship-specific Factors

These factors include ship design features that can affect/cause fatigue. Some ship design features affect workload (i.e. automation, equipment reliability), some affect the crew’s ability to sleep, and others affect the level of physical stress on the crew (i.e. noise, vibration, accommodation spaces, etc.). The following list details ship-specific factors:

• Ship design, Level of Automation, Level of Redundancy, Equipment reliability, Inspection and Maintenance, Age of vessel, Physical comfort in work spaces, Location of quarters, Ship motion, Physical comfort of accommodation spaces.

D. Environmental Factors

Exposure to excess levels of environmental factors, e.g. temperature, humidity,excessive noise levels, can cause or affect fatigue. Long-term exposure may even cause harm to a person’s health. Furthermore, considering that environmental factors may produce physical discomfort, they can also cause or contribute to the disruption of sleep.

Ship motion is also considered an environmental factor. Motion affects a person’s ability to maintain physical balance. This is due to the extra energy expended to maintain balance while moving, especially during harsh sea conditions. There is a direct relation between a ship’s motion and a person’s ability to work. Excessive ship movement can also cause nausea and motion sickness. Environmental factors can also be divided into factors external to the ship and those internal to the ship. Within the ship, the crew is faced with elements such as noise, vibration and temperature (heat, cold, and humidity). External factors include port and weather condition and vessel traffic.

5. BASIC CONCEPTS IN UNDERSTANDING FATIGUE

A. Sleep

Sleep is an active process; when people sleep they are actually in an altered state of consciousness. All sleep does not have the same quality and does not provide the same recuperative benefits. In order to satisfy the needs of the human body, sleep must have three characteristics to be most effective:

• Duration: Everyone’s sleep needs are unique; however, it is generally recommended that a person obtain, on average, 7 to 8 hours of sleep per 24-hour day. A person needs the amount of sleep that produces the feeling of being refreshed and alert. Alertness and performance are directly related to sleep. Insufficient sleep over several consecutive days will impair alertness. Only sleep can maintain or restore performance levels.

• Continuity: The sleep should be uninterrupted. Six one-hour naps do not have the same benefit as one six-hour period of sleep.

• Quality: People need deep sleep. Just being tired is not enough to ensure a good sleep. An individual must begin sleep in synch with the biological clock to ensure quality sleep. If the time of sleep is out of synchronization with his/her biological clock, it is difficult to sleep properly.

B. Biological Clock and Circadian Rhythm

Each individual has a biological clock, and this clock regulates the body’s circadian rhythm. To best understand both of these features, it is first necessary to understand how the circadian rhythm functions. Our bodies move through various physical processes and states within a 24-hour period, such as sleeping/waking, and cyclical changes in body temperature, hormone levels, sensitivity to drugs, etc. This cycle represents the circadian rhythm. The biological clock regulates the circadian rhythm. The biological clock is perfectly synchronised to the traditional pattern of daytime wakefulness and night-time sleep.

For many seafarers, working patterns conflict with their biological clock. Irregular schedules caused by shifting rotations, crossing time zones, etc. cause the circadian rhythms to be out of synchronization.

C. Stress

Stress occurs when a person is confronted with an environment that poses a threat or demand, and the individual becomes aware of his/her inability or difficulty in coping with the environment (a feeling of being overwhelmed). This can result in reduced work performance and health problems.

Stress can be caused by a number of things, including:

• Environmental hardships (noise, vibration, exposure to high and low temperatures, etc), Weather (i.e. ice conditions), Personal problems (family problems, home sickness, etc.), Broken rest, Long working hours, On-board interpersonal relationships.

Fatigue is dangerous in that people are poor judges of their level of fatigue. The following is a sample of fatigue’s known effect on performance.

• Fatigued individuals become more susceptible to errors of attention and memory (for example, it is not uncommon for fatigued individuals to omit steps in a sequence).

• Chronically fatigued individuals will often select strategies that have a high degree of risk on

Fatigue can affect an individual's ability to respond to stimuli, perceive stimuli, interpret or understand stimuli, and it can take longer to react to them once they have been identified. Fatigue also affects problem solving which is an integral part of handling new or novel tasks. Fatigue is known to detrimentally affect a person’s performance and may reduce individual and crew effectiveness and efficiency; decrease productivity; lower standards of work and may lead to errors being made. Unless steps are taken to alleviate the fatigue, it will remain long after the period of sustained attention, posing a hazard to ship safety.

One very important fact to remember is that people who are experiencing fatigue have a very difficult time recognizing the signs of fatigue themselves. It is difficult for a number of reasons, but largely because fatigue can affect your ability to make judgements or solve complex problems. The following list describes how fatigue affects your mind, emotions and body; you may recognize some of these changes in others (with time, you may learn to identify some within yourself):

A. Physically:

• Inability to stay awake (an example is head nodding or falling asleep against your will)
• Difficulty with hand-eye coordination skills (such as, switch selection)
• Speech difficulties (it may be slurred, slowed or garbled)
• Heaviness in the arms and legs or sluggish feeling
• Decreased ability to exert force while lifting, pushing or pulling
• Increased frequency of dropping objects like tools or parts
• Non-specific physical discomfort
• Headaches
• Giddiness
• Heart palpitations / irregular heart beats
• Rapid breathing
• Loss of appetite
• Insomnia
• Sudden sweating fits
• Leg pains or cramps
• Digestion problems

B. Emotionally:

• Increased willingness to take risks
• Increased intolerance and anti-social behaviour
• Needless worry
• Reduced motivation to work well
• Increased mood changes (examples are irritability, tiredness and depression)

C. Mentally:
• Poor judgement of distance, speed, time, etc.
• Inaccurate interpretation of a situation (examples are focusing on a simple problem or failing to anticipate the gravity of the situation or failing to anticipate danger)
• Slow or no response to normal, abnormal or emergency situations
• Reduced attention span
• Difficulty concentrating and thinking clearly
• Decreased ability to pay attention

Food (timing, frequency, content and quality) Refined sugars (sweets, doughnuts, chocolates, etc.) can cause your blood sugar to rise rapidly to a high level. The downside of such short-term energy is that a rapid drop in blood sugar can follow it. Low blood sugar levels can cause weakness, instability and difficulty in concentrating and in the extreme case unconsciousness. Eating large meals prior to a sleep period may disrupt your sleep.

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Now, here are the rules under which, using some cleverly worded options, an active seafarer is presented with a 98-hour work-week on board, when actually, a work week should never have exceeded 91 hours in a week. However, having said that, we need to look closely at Article 5 Paragraph 6:- what are the National Laws for hours of work at the workplace, and why can't these be implemented on Indian ships or even those ships visiting Indian ports?

ILO Convention 180

Art.5 paragraph 1. The limits on hours of work or rest shall be as follows: (a) maximum hours of work shall not exceed: (i) 14 hours in any 24-hour period; and (ii) 72 hours in any seven-day period; or (b) minimum hours of rest shall not be less than: (i) ten hours in any 24-hour period; and (ii) 77 hours in any seven-day period.

Art. 5 paragraph 2. Hours of rest may be divided into no more than two periods, one of which shall be at least six hours in length, and the interval between consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed 14 hours.

Art. 5 paragraph 6. Nothing in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall prevent the Member from having national laws or regulations or a procedure for the competent authority to authorize or register collective agreements permitting exceptions to the limits set out. Such exceptions shall, as far as possible, follow the standards set out but may take account of more frequent or longer leave periods or the granting of compensatory leave for watchkeeping seafarers or seafarers working on board ships on short voyages.

Art. 7 paragraph 1 Nothing in this Convention shall be deemed to impair the right of the master of a ship to require a seafarer to perform any hours of work necessary for the immediate safety of the ship, persons on board or cargo, or for the purpose of giving assistance to other ships or persons in distress at sea.

Art.7 paragraph 3 As soon as practicable after the normal situation has been restored, the master shall ensure that any seafarers who have performed work in a scheduled rest period are provided with an adequate period of rest.

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And here's what the STCW convention has to say about things:-

STCW Convention

Section A-VIII/1 of the STCW Code (Mandatory)

1. All persons who are assigned duty as officer in charge of a watch or as a rating forming part of a watch shall be provided a minimum of 10 hours rest in any 24-hour period.

2. The hours of rest may be divided into no more than two periods, one of which shall be at least 6 hours in length.

3. The requirements for rest periods laid down in paragraph 1 and 2 need not be maintained in the case of an emergency or drill or in other overriding operational conditions.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, the minimum period of ten hours may be reduced to not less than 6 consecutive hours provided that any such reduction shall not extend beyond two days and not less than 70 hours of rest are provided each seven day period.

5. Administrations shall require that watch schedules be posted where they are easily accessible.

3. In applying regulation VIII/1, the following should be taken into account:

.1 provisions made to prevent fatigue should ensure that excessive or unreasonable overall working hours are not undertaken. In particular, the minimum rest periods specified in Section AVIII/1 should not be interpreted as implying that all other hours may be devoted to watchkeeping or other duties;

.2 that the frequency and length of leave periods, and the granting of compensatory leave, are material factors in preventing fatigue from building up over a period of time;

.3 the provisions may be varied for ships on short-sea voyages, provided special safety arrangements are put in place.

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PART III. MANNING OF SHIPS

Article 11

1. Every ship to which this Convention applies shall be sufficiently, safely and efficiently manned, in accordance with the minimum safe manning document or an equivalent issued by the competent authority.

2. When determining, approving or revising manning levels, the competent authority shall take into account:

(a) the need to avoid or minimize, as far as practicable, excessive hours of work, to ensure sufficient rest and to limit fatigue; and

(b) the international instruments identified in the Preamble.

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PART IV. RESPONSIBILITIES OF SHIPOWNERS AND MASTERS

Article 13

The shipowner shall ensure that the master is provided with the necessary resources for the purpose of compliance with obligations under this Convention, including those relating to the appropriate manning of the ship. The master shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the requirements on seafarers' hours of work and rest arising from this Convention are complied with.

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Case reports:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4597111.stm

chief maritime investigator, UK, Stephen Meyer in his annual report, said:-

"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."

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Case Study from the Chemical Trade

V/1 loaded from Malaysian and Indonesian ports arrived Europe with heated cargo of different grades of palm oil in winters. En-route passage nothing much except Suez transit and heating of cargo. Total passage to N. Europe is about 25 days. After coming along side v/l will be discharging 4 parcels along side and 4 parcels to coasters. Head office kept well informed about berths and coaster arrival schedules. Coasters are arranged by owners and as per instructions received should not have any delay when coming alongside for loading. Boarding supervisor on board to monitor cargo operations and tank cleaning. Any slackness on part of crew is added as remarks in report. Total crew on board includes Chief Officer, 2 duty officers, 3 ABs, 1 OS, Pump man, Boson and two cadets. Due to hectic schedule and freezing nature of cargo chief officer is all the time in CCR to monitor cargo operations. Duty officers are continuously on six on six off. Crew are distributed as follows: 06:00 - 12:00, 18:00 - 24:00 - Pumpman, AB1, AB2, Cadet; 12:00 - 18:00, 00:00 - 06:00 - Boson, AB3, OS, Cadet.

Except for fatty acids all cargoes require squeezing while stripping. This requires crew to go inside hot tanks and do manual squeezing. Coils are hot and tanks are slippery. Any delay in squeezing can freeze cargo at bottom and this can lead to ROB or delay by several hours in discharge of cargoes. From each watch pump man and 1 cadet stay on top for operations and crew go inside for squeezing. But with only 2 crewmembers it is not possible to complete squeezing. View this all crew members (including off watch are called for squeezing tanks). It is important to give gap in stripping of tanks however at times gap can't be more then 15mins and immediately on completion crew has to enter into another tanks. Work load increases in case cargo stops going due to freezing when level of cargoes goes below heating coils. On completion of discharge v/l to proceed to North Sea for tank cleaning. Next cargo is chemicals including some fine chemicals like Paraxylene, MEK, Acetone, Iso-Butane etc. Loading to take place in 3 consecutive ports. Time allocated for cleaning of 28 tanks is 4 days. To wash tanks with hot water followed by detergent and finally rinsing. Duty officer can't participate in tank cleaning view they are doing navigational watches. Chief Officer after completion of discharge is busy with tank cleaning schedule. Almost 3 days go in washing tanks and one day to prepare tanks for loading. Once about to complete you plan to return back for loading to avoid any delays. Tank cleaning involves manual cleaning after initial pre wash to remove traces of last cargo. Sometimes acid tanks need re-cleaning if not properly cleaned. Once again prior to arrival you will receive schedule of berth rotation and coasters in first loading port. Immediately on arrival Surveyors come on first berth to take wall wash tanks to avoid delays at other berths. This shifting on berth and loading takes about 3 days in port. After loading v/l to proceed to two other nearby loading ports. After first port, pressure reduces as number of tanks to be loaded reduces. Total Discharge-Tank Cleaning and back loading takes about 12 days. So in all, those 12 days of tank cleaning and back loading is full of work with no proper rest! Rest hours violation becomes common. With so much work in hand one has to worry about tank passing by surveyors and reports given by the boarding supervisor!!

On chemical tanker additional duty officer should be a must, who can assist chief officer in tank cleaning operations.

Nautical Institute Fatigue Forum Report, 06/001

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The results of a 6 year research programme into seafarer fatigue, Seafarer Fatigue: The Cardiff Research Programme were published in November 2006. Adequate Crewing and Seafarer Fatigue: The International Perspective has just been released. The first of these reports, supported by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Health and Safety Executive, Nautilus UK and the Seafarers' Research Centre, Cardiff seeks to predict worst-case scenarios for fatigue, health and injury; to develop best practice recommendations appropriate to ship type and trade and to produce advice packages for seafarers, regulators and policy makers.

The research took the form of a literature review, a survey of 1,856 seafarers, diary studies and objective testing on board. In addition to the clear confirmation that fatigue is a very real problem at sea, the studies also exposed a tendency of many seafarers to under-record their working hours. Major findings: n One in four seafarers said they had fallen asleep while on watch Almost 50% of seafarers taking part in the study reported working weeks of 85 hours or moren Around half said their working hours had increased over the past 10 years, despite new regulations intended to combat fatigue and Almost 50% of seafarers taking part in the study consider their working hours present a danger to their personal safety n Some 37% said their working hours sometimes posed a danger to the safe operations of their ship Many reported that they had worked to the point of collapse and fallen asleep at the wheel and over half of the sample believed that their personal safety was at risk because of fatigue.

(Seafarer Fatigue: The Cardiff Research Programme.)

Excerpts:-

The 1989 grounding of the Exxon Valdez caused the release of 11.2 million gallons of crude oil. It was a true environmental disaster, the world's worst ever oil spill. The US National Transportation Safety Board later determined that the probable causes included “the failure of the third mate to properly manoeuvre the vessel because of fatigue and excessive workload” and “the failure of the Exxon shipping company to provide a fit master and a rested and sufficient crew for the Exxon Valdez”.

A typical example of watchkeeper fatigue occurred at 05:15 on a June morning when a 1,990gt general cargo vessel ran aground on the west coast of Scotland. The chief officer had been on watch since midnight and was suffering the cumulative effects of fatigue generated by the 6 on 6 off watchkeeping routine punctuated by regular port visits where he was expected to oversee all cargo operations. The chief officer fell asleep standing at the controls between 04:05 and 04:15 and missed a planned alteration of course. He woke an hour later, still standing, as the vessel grounded.

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Studies show that there are comparable effects between fatigue and alcohol intake on a persons ability to function. Guidance in the STCW Convention (Section B-VIII/2 part 5 – annex 5) prescribes a maximum of 0.08% blood alcohol level during watchkeeping and prohibits the consumption of alcohol 4 hours before a watch. A number of States are planning initiatives to further limit alcohol intake on board and many shipowners already operate vessels with total bans. Curiously, although studies have established that fatigue is prevalent at sea and that its effects are in fact worse than those caused by alcohol, there would appear to be much less enthusiasm within the industry for addressing the problem of fatigue.

Fatigue, Alcohol and Performance Impairment Reduced opportunity for sleep and reduced sleep quality are frequently related to accidents involving shift-workers. Poor-quality sleep and inadequate ecovery leads to increased fatigue, decreased alertness and impaired performance in a variety of cognitive psychomotor tests. However, the risks associated with fatigue are not well quantified. Here we equate the performance impairment caused by fatigue with that due to alcohol intoxication, and show that moderate levels of fatigue produce higher levels of impairment than the proscribed level of alcohol intoxication. Forty subjects participated in two counterbalanced experiments. In one they were kept awake for 28 hours (from 8:00 until 12:00 the following day), and in the other they were asked to consume 10- 15g alcohol at 30-min intervals from 8:00 until their mean blood alcohol concentration reached 0.10%.

We measured cognitive psychomotor performance at half-hourly intervals using a computer-administered test of hand-eye coordination (an unpredictable tracking task). Results are expressed as a percentage of performance at the start of the session. Performance decreased significantly in both conditions. Between the tenth and twenty-sixth hours of wakefulness, mean relative performance on the tracking task decreased by 0.74% per hour. Regression analysis in the sustained wakefulness condition revealed a linear correlation between mean relative performance and hours of wakefulness that accounted for roughly 90% of the variance. Regression analysis in the alcohol condition indicated a significant linear correlation between subject's mean blood alcohol concentration and mean relative performance that accounted for roughly 70% of the variance. For each 0.01% increase in blood alcohol, performance decreased by 1.16%. Thus, at a mean blood alcohol concentration of 0.10%, mean relative performance on the tracking task decreased, on average by 11.6%. Equating the two rates at which performance declined (percentage decline per hour of wakefulness and percentage decline with change in blood alcohol concentration), we calculated that the performance decrement for each hour of wakefulness between 10 and 26 hours was equivalent to the performance decrement observed with a 0.004% rise in blood alcohol concentration.

Therefore, after 17 hours of sustained wakefulness (3:00) cognitive psychomotor performance decreased to a level equivalent to the performance impairment observed at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%. This is the proscribed level of alcohol intoxication in many western industrialized countries. After 24 hours of sustained wakefulness (8:00) cognitive psychomotor performance decreased to a level equivalent to the performance deficit observed at a blood alcohol concentration of roughly 0.10%. Plotting mean relative performance and blood alcohol concentration 'equivalent' against hours of wakefulness, it is clear that the effects of moderate sleep loss on performance are similar to moderate alcohol intoxication. As about 50% of shift-workers do not sleep on the day before the first night-shift, and levels of fatigue on subsequent night-shifts can be even higher, our data indicate that the performance impairment associated with shift-work could be even greater than reported here. (Nature, Volume 388, July-August 1997 )

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Strong association between fatigue and accidents:-

Accident statistics show a strong association with factors that increase the risk of fatigue, such as under manning and long working hours.

Objective measures of performance efficiency are also influenced by fatigue and this suggests that it is not just watch-keepers who are likely to be affected but other members of the crew as well. Fatigue increases human error which not only increases the risk of collisions or groundings but also increases the risk of personal injury and injury to others. A recent MAIB report of an accident in which an A/B tragically died determined that the seafarer was crushed due to unsafe equipment design, lack of appropriate training and insufficient maintenance. However, the comments regarding manning levels and hours of rest make for interesting reading: Complement of Neermoor had a total crew of six, comprising master, mate, chief engineer, two AB deckhands and an OS/cook. At sea, the master and mate worked 6 on/6 off navigational watches, with the master keeping the 6 - 12 watches and the mate the 12 - 6 watches.

The two ABs were employed on deck and as lookouts as required, assisted by the OS/cook when he was not busy with his catering duties. The chief engineer was solely responsible for the engine room and other technical issues. The crew were all serving on short term renewable contracts, arranged through a third-party manning agency. This complement was in accordance with the minimum manning level specified in the vessel's MSMC. However, the ship had previously operated with a crew of 7… Hours of rest records Although hours of rest records were kept on board Neermoor, the records for the week preceding the accident were not available at the time of the accident, and they have not since been produced. While full details of crew hours just before the accident are not available, conclusions have been drawn from logbook entries, voyage reports and other sources.

The master and mate, as the only two navigating officers on board, worked a 6-on/6-off watchkeeping routine while on passage. In addition, they were required to work standby periods for arrival and departure from port, as well as administrative/ship's business and cargo related duties while in port. The crew had a similar workload, as shown by the narrative of this accident. After the short passage from Dordrecht to Southampton, they were required for arrival and then berthing duties. The logbook shows that a security watch, in accordance with the requirements of the ISPSC, was maintained during the time spent discharging in Southampton. Once they had completed their unberthing duties, the ABs were set to work cleaning the hold; this took most of the night and they were barely finished on arrival at Teignmouth. from the MAIB investigation of the fatal accident due to collapse of a portable bulkhead onboard mv Neermoor at Teignmouth, UK on 27 April 2006.

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Fatigue was clearly established as the principal causal factor in the case of an 80m long bulk carrier, which ran aground on rocks in the Western Islands of Scotland at 01:50 on an October morning. The vessel only had two watchkeeping officers including the master. Towards the end of his 18:00 to 24:00 watch, the master left the bridge and called the chief officer to relieve him. He returned to the bridge, plotted a position on the chart and sat in the wheelhouse chair to await the arrival of his relief. He fell asleep, and the chief officer remained asleep in his cabin. They both woke up as the vessel grounded. There had been no watch alarm fitted to the vessel and there had been no seaman on lookout duty.

In the previous 4 days, the master and the chief officer's workload had been arduous and they had not achieved more than 6 hours off duty at any one time. The quality of sleep during some of their rest periods had also been poor because of the uncomfortable movement of the ship in a seaway. In port, their off-duty periods had been disrupted by the need to shift berths because of cargo loading requirements, and at sea the pressures of paperwork and meal times affected their ability to rest. (MAIB Bridge Watchkeeping and Safety Study, 2004)

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A growing cause for concern. In recent years, the Association has noted an increase in incidents involving crew members who appear to be suffering from some form of psychological difficulty. This can range from mild anxiety attacks to aggressive behaviour to fellow crewmembers, including extreme physical violence. More tragically it can lead to suicide. It is not clear what the main causes are, but a possible factor is the length of time spent away from home and sometimes an inability to get relieved from a ship. At the same time, there may be family pressure to remain at sea longer in order to earn more money and continue sending funds home. In the modern world of shipping, turnaround times in port are also much quicker, creating more work for both officers and crew and less opportunity to relax, resulting in fatigue and stress… (North of England P&I Club, Signals Issue: 64 July 2006)

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So, what's it like with fatigue and you, at sea or ashore?

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The way forward

Treat fatigue as a serious health and safety issue.

A large proportion of work-related death, injury and ill-health amongst seafarers arises from failure to manage health and safety effectively. This failure is exacerbated by changes that have taken place in the structure and organisation of the industry internationally over the last quarter of a century that both increase risks to health and safety and make prevention of harm to workers more difficult to regulate or manage. Industry wide, cultural change is needed to address fatigue. There are serious risks and consequences associated with fatigued seafarers such as the potential for more environmental disasters and loss of life, the economic losses due to accidents, and the impact on the health and well being of the seafarers. The first stage of dealing with fatigue is to get the relevant people to acknowledge that there is a problem to address.

A more robust approach to regulation and manning A starting point for improving the situation must be a more robust approach to regulation. It is important to ensure that potential fatigue is taken into account when setting appropriate manning levels. Manning levels need to be addressed in a realistic way that prevents economic advantage accruing to those who operate with bare minimums. Such an approach must consider more than the minimum levels necessary to operate a vessel; rather it must address the need for maintenance, recovery time, redundancy, and the additional burden of the paperwork and drills associated with security and environmental issues. More transparent regulatory models need to be developed to allow such an approach. Enforcement of existing legislation, elimination of false record-keeping, and better training and guidance It is essential that existing guidelines are enforced with mandatory provisions and that effective measures are taken to overcome the problem of false record-keeping.

One possibility could be to link the guidance in IMO A890 to the ISM Code. This must be supplemented with a serious attempt to promote a culture of safety on board ships. As long as seafarers feel compelled to falsify records of their hours of work, the problem will be hard to address. Appropriate training and guidance regarding avoidance of fatigue and optimum working conditions is needed. Lessons can be learned from other transport industries and it is important to seek examples of best practice and apply these in an effective way to the maritime sector.

One of these is to seek the involvement of all stakeholders in developing solutions to the problem. Methods of addressing issues specific to seafaring are now quite advanced and a holistic approach to the issue of fatigue can lead to a culture that benefits the industry as a whole. If nothing is done now, the maritime industry may find itself compelled to respond to external drivers such as the environmental lobby or those pushing the security agenda. Learn from best practice in the maritime sector and in other comparable industries It is important to learn by example and adopt those strategies that ill lead to a culture of “best practice” and an elimination of “worst case scenarios”.

This approach will require the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders and good models of such teams (the work force, owners, regulators, and academics) have been developed in other areas of transport.

For more detailed information on the outcomes of the recent research quoted in this document see: Smith,

A., Adequate Manning and Seafarers' Fatigue: The International Perspective January 2007 Smith, A., Allen, P., Wadsworth, E., Seafarer Fatigue: The Cardiff Research Programme November 2006

For more details of fatigue related accident reports see:

MAIB Bridge Watchkeeping Safety Study July 2004

and http://www.maib.gov.uk/


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Followup article is here:-

http://matescabin.blogspot.com/2011/12/fatigue-at-sea-masters-point-of-view.html

Personal communication and information technology access on merchant ships

Just one single aspect of life at sea:- the busiest time for people on board ship is when the ship is either in port or close to a coast. One would expect that is the time when all other issues are set aside, and people concentrate on work, like they do in any other job ashore.

The maximum number of phone calls and emails I get from friends at sea is when they are in port or coasting. This includes Masters going through pilotage waters, Chief Engineers when they are receiving bunkers, and others. It is almost as though the sanctity of "only work" when in port is almost lost on the present generation of seafarers, and this was one of those important aspects drilled into our heads way back when mail came in packets - of paper, not bytes.

But then, fact remains, for a 24x7 connected generation, this is also the only time when seafarers get "connectivity". Both for mobile phones as well as wireless broadband. And as a result what do you have? People on duty in charge of navigation issues, pollution prevention, dealing with shore staff and most of all, snatching a few hours for rest - these very people also have to somehow find time to communicate with family, friends and other beloved ones.

This is being repeated because it is so important now, and there are whispers that accidents were caused because the watchkeepers were busy "doing personal mail". Whether on laptops, netbooks or simply mobile phones. And fishing vessels get run over, amongst other things. For lesser crimes, car drivers go to jail - for long durations.

Likewise, the availability of news, information and other updates, while at sea. Go back to memories of people buying ultra-powerful "world radios", with short-wave capabilities that ensured they managed to receive static infused but audible all the same, music and news from their homelands even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I just received news that a batchmate of mine revived his old Grundig World Radio - and the Customs Officers were amazed at seeing this vintage piece, took photos next to it. Almost as big as a suitcase, but then luckily, he was entitled to 60 kilos of baggage.

Now match this with this big move afoot, keeps ebbing and surging actually, to try and improve matters for seafarers. Especially in "Year of the Seafarer", whatever that may imply to the rest of the world, since many or most outside the orbit of shipping are still to figure out what to do next about it.

Yes, we are repeatedly told that the Maritime Labour Convention 2010 will address and improve matters, but despite that, there will be a shortage of any number of thousands of trained seagoing personnel - especially on deep sea tanker, both liquid and gas.

Would it, then, be asking for too much that ships complement be provided with the facility of something everybody has at home - 24x7 internet, through VSAT on satellite and similar?

To my simple mind, and having headed a technology company where the same generation of youngsters needed full-time connectivity as a given, this is a holistic solution to a lot of issues at sea. It provides a low-cost benefit, it certainly keeps seafarers more in touch with the world and most of all, it is a step that actively promotes safety by freeing the body and mind of the seafarer when the ship needs it the most.

Ship-owners of a slightly more aware nature have already started providing this onboard, some for more than a few years now. Having revalidated my "ticket" with a whole new generation of young seafarers  in their 20s and 30s, I am aware how internet onboard is now one of their major parameters when deciding where and who to sail with.

And most of all, in The Year of the Seafarer, denying them what is almost a basic requirement is like shipowners and managers making an issue of providing air-conditioning and radars on ships in the "old days".

Good luck. And this article typed out on a netbook while riding the Delhi Metro underground, sent out through a small little USB port linked device, which goes through repeaters and boosters on this train. In some trains, the wi-fi is free, too.

About time ships followed what trains provide?