MUTUAL DISRESPECT
M asters and offi cers are feeling increas-ingly
unable to exercise their profes-sional
judgement as a consequence of
the growing use of bureaucratic
systems and procedures, coupled with increasing
surveillance from ashore.
That is the conclusion of an international
study carried out by experts at Cardiff Univer-sity’s
Seafarers International Research Centre
(SIRC). The analysis warns that the breakdown
in trust between ships and shore presents
worrying implications for the morale and
wellbeing of maritime professionals and may
have damaging impacts upon shipping compa-nies.
Presenting the fi ndings, SIRC director
Professor Helen Sampson said the shipping
industry has increasingly adopted ‘punishment-centred’
bureaucratic systems at corporate level
and through international regulations.
A series of high-profi le accidents – such as the
Herald of Free Enterprise and Exxon Valdez
disasters – resulted in the introduction of
procedural and paperwork measures such as the
International Ship Management (ISM) Code, and
new rules and record-keeping requirements
This has meant that tasks which
were previously carried out in
accordance with the judgement of
senior offi cers have become
transformed into activities which
follow a set of prescribed steps –
designed by shore-based managers
– which are laid out in a manual and
often supported with requirements for
the completion of further documents,
demonstrate compliance with interna-tional
standards, the researchers point
out. Companies face big fi nes and
seafarers can be jailed or dismissed
if these records are not properly
maintained.
Seafarers’ autonomy has been
further eroded since the late 1990s by
At the turn of this century, most ships simply
faxed daily reports to their managers – but now
data on everything from course and speed to
56 SUOMEN MERENKULKU J FINLANDS SJÖFART
engine performance can be continuously
transmitted to remote centres on land.
As a result, the study notes, decisions that
seafarers had previously been required (and
trusted) to take onboard in isolation from
shore-side management have rapidly become
subject to scrutiny and second-guessing.
Prof Sampson said the SIRC team had carried
out extensive research, funded by the Lloyd’s
Register Foundation and the TK Foundation, to
fi nd out how these trends are affecting seafarers.
Researchers carried out nine observational
voyages, conducted 400 interviews with offi cers
and ratings, and analysed some 2,500 question-naires
completed by maritime professionals from
the UK, China, Singapore, India and the Philip-pines.
The feedback gathered showed many masters
and offi cers now feel unable to exercise their
professional judgement in situations where they
retain the legal and/or moral responsibility for
the consequences of their actions or inaction.
Almost one-third of respondents said they had
been prevented by shore staff from taking action
in the best interests of crew, and 18% in the best
interests of the ship.
Not only do seafarers feel less trusted, but
they also fear an increased risk of losing their job
if they are found in breach of the ‘new normal’.
The research uncovered cases which showed that
some seafarers have good reason to have such
fears, Prof Sampson said, and there was also
evidence to show that some masters and offi cers
feel unable to act independently even in an
emergency.
Examples include a case in which shore-based
managers resisted a master’s request to change
course to avoid a typhoon and another in which a
chief engineer’s request for new parts was
questioned by personnel ashore.
The study warns that masters are under
particular pressure, as they remain formally
charged with responsibility for crew safety
whilst being insuffi ciently protected against
Trust between
seafarers and
shore-based
management
has declined
to ‘disturbing’
levels, a major
research
project has
discovered.
ANDREW
LININGTON
reports.
” Examples include a case of shore-based
managers resisting a master’s request
to change course to avoid a typhoon and
another in which a chief engineer’s
request for new parts was questioned.”
through amendments to the MARPOL, STCW
and SOLAS Conventions, she pointed out.
such as checklists.
2,500
QUESTIONNAIRES WERE
COMPLETED BY MARITIME
PROFESSIONALS FROM
THE UK, CHINA, SINGA
PORE, INDIA AND THE
PHILIPPINES.
Almost all forms of regulatory enforcement
in the shipping industry now rely on the
maintenance of records which serve to
the increasing use of technology to
monitor shipboard operations from ashore.
30%
OF RESPONDENTS SAID
THEY HAD BEEN PREVENTED
BY SHORE STAFF FROM
TAKING ACTION IN THE BEST
INTERESTS OF THE CREW .