Working 85-hour weeks puts seafarers’ personal safety at risk

Almost half of seafarers work more than 85 hours a week and are risking their personal safety, according to research.

The six-year study of 1,800 maritime workers by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and the Health & Safety Executive revealed that half of seafarers believed working such long hours was a danger to their personal safety.

More than one-third (37%) of maritime workers also said working excessive hours could hamper the operations of their ship.

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The report, supported by Nautilus union and the Seafarers’ International Research Centre at Cardiff University, concluded that the hours seafarers work needs to be more closely monitored.

Nautilus UK general secretary Brian Orrell said: “This proves conclusively the serious nature of the problem and the massive scale to which fatigue is suffered by seafarers.”