ABSTRACT
Global concern with the extent of seafarer fatigue and the potential environmental costs is widely evident everywhere in the shipping industry. Maritime regulators, ship owners, trade unions and P&I clubs are all alert to the fact that in some ship types, a combination of minimal manning, sequences of rapid turnarounds and short sea passages, adverse weather and traffic conditions, may find seafarers working long hours and with insufficient recuperative rest. In these circumstances fatigue and reduced performance may lead to environmental damage, ill-health and reduced life-span among highly skilled seafarers who are in short supply. A long history of research into working hours and conditions and their performance effects in manufacturing and process industries as well as in road transport and civil aviation has no parallel in commercial shipping. With a few exceptions, maritime research on work patterns and conditions has been conducted
aboard, or in simulations of, warships. The best known and most recent merchant ship field studies (Colquhoun et al., 1988) were conducted aboard warship auxilliaries.
