Working at sea can involve long shifts and irregular hours for days on end. On top of this, the ship’s movement and often basic accommodation can make getting a full night’s sleep difficult. That can leave those who work at sea fatigued.
Fatigue is often cited as a contributing factor in incidents that occur on land. For example, drivers crash due to it, and doctors injure patients after making a poor decision due to fatigue. It is therefore no surprise that fatigue can also be a contributing factor to injuries or deaths that occur at sea. Here are some examples of how that might occur.
Poor decision-making by those in charge of the ship
Everyone makes mistakes when they are tired, but a wrong decision by someone steering a ship could cause it to run aground, collide with another vessel or get caught up in bad weather that results in the ship pitching and rolling, throwing around people and things onboard the vessel.
Forgetting to take an essential safety measure
Things must be done in a certain way to ensure the safety of the crew and any passengers. If someone who is fatigued forgets to perform one of their duties or fails to do so properly, it might have serious consequences for them or others aboard. For example, a waiter forgets to secure a food trolley properly when they hit rough water, and the trolley tips, sending soup over someone. Or an engine room worker forgets to secure a nut they have removed while doing routine maintenance, leading to a mechanical issue occurring at a vulnerable point of the journey, causing a loss of control of the ship.
Anyone injured while onboard a ship may want guidance to learn more about how best to seek compensation.