SSG No 10 - Shipgaz

He is also of the opinion that in some
cases this is not only a safety issue, it also
means a ruthless exploitation of crews.
Review of IMO guidelines
The MAIB report concluded that “manning
levels, fatigue and a master’s ability to discharge
his duties are major causal factors in
collisions and groundings”. As a result, the
MAIB recommended its “sister” authority,
the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency,
to demand a review of the IMO guidelines
on safe manning to ensure that all merchant
vessels over 500 GT have a minimum of a
master and two navigational officers.
The 2-navigator issue has landed on the
table of the IMO STW (Standards of Training
and Watchkeeping) sub-committee.
Sweden hopes for the introduction of a rest
period log, to be kept on the vessels. This
should be worked out in a way that makes
it possible to compare the entered data with
the information in the ship’s logbook. If a
port state control officer (PSCO) finds dis-
Mall.qxd 07-05-08 11.24 Sida 1
crepancies, this could be a cause for detention
to give the crew a chance to sleep.
“This would be a way for port states
and flag states to protect themselves from
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Fatigued officers
constitute a risk
for all traffic
and the
environment. johan Franson.
a safety risk”, says Franson. According to
him, there have been a few cases in Sweden
when a vessel has been detained on
the grounds of apparent fatigue among the
crew. A rest period log would however give
the PSCO a better foundation for a decision
to detain a vessel.
Controversial issue
If the operation of a vessel cannot be managed
within the available working time
limits, the shipowner/manager faces two
options in practise: either to increase the
number of crew or to relieve the crew from
work tasks by handling them in the shorebased
organisation.
The 2-navigator issue is controversial.
SHIPPING AND SHIP MANAGEMENT
Any suggestions on increased crew sizes
are met by opposition from member states
with large coaster fleets, as Germany, Holland
and Denmark in Northern Europe.
For smaller vessels, and especially older
ones, manning costs constitute a major
stake of the daily running costs, and mandatory
rules on increased manning is seen
as a competitive disadvantage for high
labour cost countries.
There is also another aspect to consider
when discussing increased manning of vessels.
Each day, coasters by the thousands
ply European waters. In these days of a
looming officer shortage crisis, where to
find the additional extra thousands of navigators
needed to man the coasters?
As more and more information is gathered
supporting the opinion that these
vessels constitute a larger risk to maritime
safety than other vessels, action must and
will be taken.
It’s a complex issue, but whatever path
the IMO chooses to follow, it will be at
least a couple of years before a final decision
is taken on how to tackle the 2-navigator
safety problem.
rolf p nilsson
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THE SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • MAY 21 2007 37