It also fits with the ongoing Dali case:
IMHO the judge was constrained in his judgement because the manning of the Solong was legal. It appeared to the court that the crew would have been well rested even though many of us in this Forum would have a contrary view having experienced this kind of operating tempo.
It could have been argued by the Stena Immaculate’s counsel that, as experienced ship operators, they should have been aware of the operating cycle of port calls would have a greater effect on the cycadian rhythm than other trades and manned the vessel appropriately.
Easier said that done.
Hundreds of vessels if not thousands of coasters in Eu waters operate with master ,c/m and and mate. Meaning nobody cares much about cycadian rhythm and before MLC convention master/chief 6/6 was a standard and contracts up to 9 months. were also a standard.
Below verdict where The Judge constraints are professionally explained.
You are correct in that thousands of coasters have traded with the manning that you described. I have sailed in coasters and in container vessels engaged in coastal trade. Time hasn’t caught up with the operation of container vessels. The demands on the ship are different. Time in port and duties of the officers have changed. Unfortunately no one seems to have done a through study in what is expected in ISM manuals and instructions to masters through P&I clubs and the like and looked at if it is a reasonable requirement given the number of personnel available. The AB who died was relieved as lookout by the master because it was daylight. This was a major shortcoming of the master but what was the urgent task that required attention in the forecastle?
Here is just a few differences that I experienced in the bygone age of coasters: Cargo stopped for rain and 24 hour cargo ops for general cargo was the exception rather than the rule. Finally coasters frequented ports where sailings depended on the tide. It wasn’t unknown to just miss the tide and everyone departed to the pub forthwith.
I thank you for the link and the judge’s reference to the Vienna Convention has an interesting case that has my attention.
An example of a shortsea container feed that run aground when the 2nd Officer fell asleep on watch:
IIRC the ship had 3 port calls during the preceding 24 hrs.
It’s crazy the workload on these feeder containerships.
I thought it was tough on a North Sea Supply vessel but at least the tours were relatively short