Bikram S. Bhatia recently defended his PhD dissertation, titled “Practice Unveils Weaknesses: Analysing the Implementation of Regulations on Seafarers’ Work/Rest Hours,” at the World Maritime University, finding significant gaps in reporting.
His research, funded by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, explores the implementation of work/rest hours regulations in the shipping industry, focusing on the management of seafarers’ fatigue. Regulations on work/rest hours set the minimum standard for fatigue risk management, which relies on accurate reporting and compliance with these hours.
Seafarers are required to maintain daily records of their work/rest hours and report any discrepancies, yet evidence suggests that these records are often adjusted, leading to misrepresentation of compliance. This malpractice hinders proper fatigue risk management, impeding necessary corrective actions such as flag State reviews and amendments to manning documents. The study emphasizes the need for further research to address these issues.
Using the Implementation Theory Framework (ITFRAM), the study analyzed both seafarers’ recording practices and port State control (PSC) officers’ inspection methods. It examined how these practices align with reported compliance outcomes. Data from surveys of 6,304 seafarers, interviews with 55 PSC officers, and 16,269 PSC inspections revealed significant weaknesses in both compliance and detection.
A large proportion of seafarers admitted to adjusting their records (64.3%), while PSC officers reported high compliance rates, which contrasted sharply with the low compliance rates reported by seafarers. The study identified several issues within the feedback system, such as suppressed, under-utilized, skewed, and ignored feedback, all of which undermine the effectiveness of the regulatory framework.
Key findings
- 64.3% of seafarers admitted to adjusting their work/rest hour records.
- Compliance rates reported by seafarers were low (11.7% to 16.1%), while PSC officers reported high compliance (90.0% to 99.3%).
- Seafarers experienced suppressed feedback, with 66.7% reporting their non-compliance was questioned by their companies.
- 60.1% of seafarers reported an expectation from companies to adjust records to ensure compliance, and 49.1% were instructed to do so.
- Non-compliance issues were not escalated to flag States for review, leading to under-utilized feedback.
- The adjustment of records skews the feedback system, creating an illusion of compliance at the policy level.
- The ongoing issue of record adjustments puts the integrity of fatigue risk management at risk, affecting seafarers’ health, safety, and regulatory compliance.
The study highlights the need for systemic change in how work/rest hours are recorded and monitored, suggesting that addressing this issue will improve both safety and fairness in the shipping industry.
To remind, another research published by the WMU also highlighted that seafarers endure longer working hours compared to their onshore counterparts as only 3.3% of seafarers’ weekly working hours align with the global average of 43 hours.
