By Sarah Heynen, Sleep is important for healthy brain function, emotional well-being and overall good physical health. But many service members and veterans are not getting the sleep they need. A study conducted by the Rand Corporation determined about 70 percent of deployable service members aboard ship reported six hours or less of sleep per day, almost half said they sleep … [Read more...]
Dead Tired
By Jaquelyn Burton (Coeval, Inc.) A person who has been awake for 17 hours faces the same risk of a crash as a person who has a BAC reading of 0.05 g/100ml and those who are awake for 24 hours will have a driving performance similar to a person who has a BAC of 0.1 g/100ml. - Adelaide Centre for Sleep Research If being tired is equivalent … [Read more...]
Ship Runs Aground After Chief Officer Blacks Out While Hitting the Head
The Chief Officer of cargo ship has been fined after his ship ran aground when he apparently fell asleep while going to the head. The U.K.'s Maritime and Coastguard Agency reports that on July 2, 2012 the Antigua and Barbuda registered cargo ship Coastal Isle was en route from Belfast to Greenock when at 0500hrs it grounded at Garroch Point on the southern coast of the … [Read more...]
Fighting Sleepiness – Warsash Maritime Academy’s Project Horizon
Shipping is a 24/7 industry, and seafarers work long hours to keep their ships running on schedule. There is growing concern about the role of fatigue in maritime accidents — with sleepiness cited as a factor in some major disasters, such as the Exxon Valdez and the Shen Neng 1. A new EU sponsored research project, Project Horizon, is a major multi-partner European … [Read more...]
The Maritime Paperwork Monster Plus New Requirements to Get More Sleep
- by Captain Richard Madden When asked about the Manila Amendments, a captain recently quipped, “What? There's new regulations for folders?!“ The Manila Amendments refer to new wide-ranging changes to the IMO (International Maritime Organization) Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). STCW is a … [Read more...]