Vessel owners and managers – fatigue advice and resources

Vessel owners and managers have certain obligations for the health and safety (including fatigue), of those onboard. Understand the benefits of having a fatigue management plan and how to minimise fatigue onboard.

If your ship’s crew or skipper has a fatigue-related accident, will your actions pass the scrutiny of an accident investigation? That’s the question you should ask yourself if you have a vessel or vessels in safe ship management.

We recommend you talk with your safe ship management (SSM) company about fatigue management. SSM company staff are trained to help vessel owners and managers to develop a fatigue management plan.

List of safe ship management companies

Benefits of having a fatigue management plan

There are three good reasons why you should have a fatigue management plan:

• safe ship management (SSM) requires it
• your vessel and crew will be healthier and safer
• under the law you are exposed to big legal risks if fatigue is not actively managed. Having a well thought-out fatigue management plan reduces these risks.

Fatigue is likely to be an issue in your operation if:

• work time (plus commuting time) cuts across the times that people would normally be sleeping. For example if work starts before 7.00am or finishes after 10.00pm
• people have to sleep on board the vessel
• there are demanding environmental stressors, eg excessive noise, vibration, heat, cold, rough sea conditions or bad weather
• work demands are unpredictable, especially the timing of work
• work is physically or mentally demanding
• employees commute for long distances to get to work
• employees have health problems or personal issues that negatively affect their sleep
• employees report feeling excessively tired at work.

Fatigue resources

Maritime New Zealand has produced the following resources to help vessel owners and managers understand and manage fatigue:

• fatigue management guides - for charter boats, fishing boats, work boats and harbour ferries

• fatigue tools for vessel owners - a resource manual that gives guidance on developing a fatigue management plan, strategies for managing fatigue, tools for assessing fatigue, plus managing the risk factors onboard.