IMO is set to revise its seafarer fatigue guidance as it digests the results of a three-year study into the long-term effects of tiredness on crew.
IMO’s human element, training and watchkeeping sub-committee met in London last week to discuss the results of the Martha project, which found seafarers suffer from increasing levels of fatigue and stress.
The three-year study used activity-recording watches, Actiwatches, which collected data on crew fatigue levels, sleep patterns and psychological wellbeing. These helped researchers conduct actigraphy analysis and create a large database of seafarer welfare.
Researchers found that fatigue can result in long-term physical and mental health issues. Seafarer motivation decreases over the length of the voyage and night watchkeepers get significantly less total sleep than others on board. The actigraphy analysis demonstrated how the overall amount of sleep decreases over time on board, and how the quality of sleep, as measured through disturbances to sleep, increase the longer crew are on board… (Read More) Source: Marine Electronics & Communications