ABSTRACT
A range of seafarers working on different vessels were asked as part of a questionnaire survey whether they had ever deliberately underrecorded their working hours to comply with regulations. When approaching the issue of seafarers’ fatigue working hours have often been a central area of focus as reflected in current legislation. Following implementation of the European Community (EC) working time directive in June 2002, a record of hours of work/rest now needs to be kept for all seafarers working on EC flagged vessels. Whilst the 40% of seafarers who reported at least occasionally under-recording working hours might appear high, it must be considered that in reality the figure is almost certainly higher with many seafarers reluctant to admit regulation infringement even in an anonymous questionnaire. Seafarers are currently finding themselves in an impossible situation where, through unspoken sanction of employment prospects, they are forced to under-record how long they work to keep peace with legislators.
