Over four out of every ten mariners from Harrison County, Miss. and elsewhere fall asleep on watch, a new study says.
The findings were released Feb. 1, 2012 in a report named “Project Horizon—a Wake Up Call.” It was backed by a number of UK-based organizations including the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Bureau Veritas and the Standard P& I Club.
The study placed 90 experienced engineers and deck officers in engine room, bridge and cargo simulators ashore to simulate realistic seagoing routines as well as evaluating decision-making performances.
The participants stood simulated watches between 64 and 90 hours over a seven day period. Up to 45% of the participants on some of the teams were subject to at least one period of “microsleep,” a word used to describe falling asleep for up to 30 seconds. Most of those instances occurred during nighttime and early morning hours.
Different watch schedules were studied and it was revealed that the six hours on/off watches gave subjects significantly less sleep than those who stood four on/eight off schedules.
Though the study took place at universities in the UK and Sweden, the results can be applied to seamen on any vessel, whether on the Gulf of Mexico or North Sea.
This study was originally reported in Lloydslist.com.
Category: Maritime Injuries Resources
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