Understanding seafarer fatigue in ferry operations

There has been a lack of research investigating fatigue in seafarers, particularly for those operating ferries in UK waters. The Department for Transport (DfT) commissioned research into seafarer fatigue, with the following objectives: 1. To determine the most appropriate method/s to assess and monitor seafarers’ fatigue. 2. To understand what the possible consequences of fatigue for different roles on the muster list are. 3. To determine what are the most important factors that cause and exacerbate fatigue and what should be the appropriate corresponding mitigations. 4. To understand what fail-safe measures are currently used by Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax vessels to prevent an accident caused, partially or wholly, by seafarer fatigue. 5. Drawing upon best practice from other transport sectors, such as the aviation industry’s CAP 371, to explore how a model that predicts the maximum number of hours and weeks for a seafarer could work in practice, accounting for the identified relevant risks and mitigations against fatigue.

A programme of five research strands was used to fulfil the research objectives. 1. A Biomathematical Model (BMM) workshop and a review of fatigue risk management documents. Six maritime industry experts from ferry companies participated in the workshop. 2. A survey. 446 seafarers completed the survey, representing a response rate of approximately 9%. 3. Interviews with seafarers in managerial roles. 11 one-to-one interviews with masters and bosuns were conducted, lasting 30 – 45 minutes each. 4. Focus groups with seafarers working in customer-facing roles. A total of 45 participants took part across nine groups. 5. A field trial, involving 63 participants. Of these participants, 30 worked on vessels where they returned home to sleep at night and 33 slept on board.

All studies within the project received ethical approval via Loughborough University.