Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Too many fatigue-related accidents

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has criticised the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for failing to address “a continuing and unacceptable trend” of fatigue-related accidents in UK waters. The criticism came in the Branch's report into the grounding of the Antari off the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland in June 2008. The investigation concluded that the accident occurred because the watchkeeping officer fell asleep when there was no dedicated lookout on the bridge, as required.

The MAIB had identified the problem of unacceptable levels of fatigue in bridge watchkeepers in 2004, and recommended that the UK address the issue through the IMO as a matter of urgency. In its latest report it has taken the “exceptional step of recommending that the UK administration takes unilateral action to ensure the safety of shipping within UK waters and to protect the environment”.

Source: http://www.itfseafarers.org/maritime_news.cfm/newsdetail/3094/region/6/section/0/order/1

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