Dear colleagues! Please be so kind to fill in a small survey on Work and Rest hours. It’s for my Master’s thesis. Your answer will be anonymous. Thank you very much for cooperation.
For deck officers- www.visidati.lv/aptauja/898897095/
For Captains- www.visidati.lv/aptauja/899271922/
[QUOTE=helmsman202;126851]Dear colleagues! Please be so kind to fill in a small survey on Work and Rest hours. It’s for my Master’s thesis. Your answer will be anonymous. Thank you very much for cooperation.
For deck officers- www.visidati.lv/aptauja/898897095/
For Captains- www.visidati.lv/aptauja/899271922/[/QUOTE]
I worked on a passenger ship where I had up to a 9 hour time change and sometimes more that 24 hours of flight time to get to the ship. I would arrive at the ship at the beginning of a contract fatigued and sleep deprived. Cab would pick me up at the hotel at about 8:00 am (midnight internal clock time) to take me to the ship. Then I would get my uniforms, sort out my cabin and then take the 1200 -1600 watch. After 1800 we would have lifeboat drills, mooring stations and then I am on watch again at midnight. As second I was also responsible for the ship’s hospital and the turnover with the new doctor. Oh yes and then there was that small matter related to 400 paper charts and ECDIS called navigation.
That was the first day.
Now as to your questions. Let’s take your question on overtime. First, I worked on a foreign flagged vessel that did not recognize overtime so your question does not apply to me. Then you assume that if you operate without adequate rest one may have minor sleep disturbances OR require a doctor’s help. I would suggest that the vast majority of deck officers rarely get more five hours of uninterrupted sleep. And they are always tired when aboard and are not under a doctor’s care
Here is your question:
How does overtime work influence you health:
there is no influence
there have been minor sleep disturbances during the contract
I need doctor’s help after the contract
I have serious health issues because of overtime work
p.s. I got off my ship (for the last time last July). I am taking about 8 months to have a somewhat normal life. Got my DP certificate in hand and will head to the Gulf hopefully in a couple months where I at the very least will double my pay.
In the meantime today is my first Christmas ashore in a few years so what the heck I am I doing on here right now.
Merry Christmas!
From the moment you step off your doorstep, you are on company time and those are work hours. The situation you describe above, as you no doubt know, is unacceptable and shouldn’t survive the scrutiny of any audit.
My company flys us the day before for typical cross-country joining, and two days before when going overseas on long flights. This allows enough time to fall inline with the regs and get some legitimate rest before joining, which is usually during critical cargo ops. We also carry 3 watch officers and a dayworking c/m which greatly helps relieve work hours. The master even has shore-management support to delay the vessel within reason to allow crew rest hours to recoup after a busy turnaround. I understand that this kind of stuff is pretty atypical (and passenger ships can’t simply delay a sailing), but a single accident could easily exponentially exceed the costs of a 6 hour delay, a few hotel rooms, or even the salary of an additional officer.
As far as the survey, it might be better if it were arranged as statements and the responses were scaled, like “strongly disagree-disagree-neutral-agree-strongly agree”. I feel like a lot of the multiple choice options didn’t really apply to me.
The entire concept of six-on six off would disappear if the regulatory bodies had any concern about adequate rest.
But this is a quirky industry with very bizarre regulatory oversight. I think a lot of that is because politicians don’t travel on commercial ships. Everybody flips out about aviation oversight because they fly or they don’t want a plane falling onto their house. And its the same throughout the world.
These bureaucrats are the same people who moved the NMC to West Virginia. Why? Because they don’t give a crap. It does not directly impact them. The Costa Concordia drove into a freakin island. And the Bounty sailed into a freakin hurricane. If either of these events had happened on an airplane do you think these “investigations” would drag out over a year with the same lack of progress? How about if they moved the FAA to India?
The captain of the Costa Concordia left a port when had been closed down due to weather. Do you think a plane would take off after an airport had been closed? And would those pilots still be flying. Of course not! But on ships - nobody cares.
Just don’t try to throw a piece a paper overboard in the middle of the Pacific ocean.
Having said that I still have no idea why anyone would sign off on a medical system that allows doctors to routinely work 24 hour shifts. But that is a different can of worms.
[QUOTE=“PMC;126941”]The entire concept of six-on six off would disappear if the regulatory bodies had any concern about adequate rest.
But this is a quirky industry with very bizarre regulatory oversight. I think a lot of that is because politicians don’t travel on commercial ships. Everybody flips out about aviation oversight because they fly or they don’t want a plane falling onto their house. And its the same throughout the world.
These bureaucrats are the same people who moved the NMC to West Virginia. Why? Because they don’t give a crap. It does not directly impact them. The Costa Concordia drove into a freakin island. And the Bounty sailed into a freakin hurricane. If either of these events had happened on an airplane do you think these “investigations” would drag out over a year with the same lack of progress? How about if they moved the FAA to India?
The captain of the Costa Concordia left a port when had been closed down due to weather. Do you think a plane would take off after an airport had been closed? And would those pilots still be flying. Of course not! But on ships - nobody cares.
Just don’t try to throw a piece a paper overboard in the middle of the Pacific ocean.
Having said that I still have no idea why anyone would sign off on a medical system that allows doctors to routinely work 24 hour shifts. But that is a different can of worms.[/QUOTE]
What he said!