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Safety and working conditions in international merchant shipping

Safety and working conditions in international merchant shipping

A study of fatal occupational accidents and a survey of world-wide fatality

statistics of merchant seafarers

Detlef Nielsen

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Seafaring:A dangerous occupation

Seafaring:A dangerous occupation

• 1894: BoT reports fatality rate of 113 per 10,000 seafarers– 9 times the rate of railway workers and 146

times the rate of factory and shop operatives

• Sweden (1945-54): 7 times higher mortality rate than shore based workers

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Seafaring: A dangerous occupationSeafaring: A dangerous occupation

• UK (1970-72): merchant navy ratings had highest mortality rate among 218 British occupations

• Denmark (1986-93): incidence rate for fatal accidents 11.5 times higher than for the Danish male workforce

• Poland (1985-94): fatal accident rate of 13.4 per 10,000 employees (higher than building industry)

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Statistics on Loss of Life At SeaStatistics on Loss of Life At Sea

• technical literature:focuses on accidents to the ship (maritime casualties)

• Lloyd’s Register and London Underwriting Agency (formerly ILU)collate data on “lives lost at sea” in connection with actual or constructive total losses of merchant ships

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Statistics on loss of life at seaStatistics on loss of life at sea

• It is impossible to establish specific risks (ship type/ occupation/ etc.).

• Cannot be used to establish a general trend.

• High fatality rates from passenger ships tend to obscure the picture as passenger and crew fatalities are compounded into a single annual figure.

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Hypothesis: different causes of death

Hypothesis: different causes of death

• maritime casualties (fire, collision, etc.)• occupational accidents• natural causes (illnesses)• individual persons missing at sea• suicides• homicides• off-duty• unclear causes

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The Study: Three PartsThe Study: Three Parts

• Fatalities among the world's merchant seafarers based on official flag state data1990 - 94,

• identify possible case study locations– Case study Hong Kong: based on records held

in the Marine Department (1985 - 94)– Case study Singapore: based on records held in

the MPA (1985 - 94)

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A survey of nationally compiled statistics

A survey of nationally compiled statistics

• 46 countries contacted (all OECD countries, all major open registries, selected other flag states)

• 19 replies received with data– 13 OECD countries– 6 non-OECD countries

• 2 open registers but no useful data

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Survey ResultsSurvey Results• survey captured:

– 28.4% of world gross tonnage– 22.3% of world seafarer population

• deaths due to casualties: 19 states• occupational accidents: 15 states• deaths due to illnesses: 10 states• individual persons missing: 16 states• suicides/ homicides: 9 states• off-duty: 3 states

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Survey Results (2)Survey Results (2)

• all results were compared to ILU data:– identified under-reporting of seafarer deaths

due to maritime casualties for most countries (up to 9 times)

– over-reporting for 4 countries

• average under-reporting factor of ILU: 1.7

A World Estimate of Lives Lost at Sea

A World Estimate of Lives Lost at Sea

Casualties (1229) 46%

unclear causes(117) 5%

Suicides/ Homicides

(72) 3%

Occupational Accidents(404) 16%

Missing at sea(101) 4%

Illnesses(550) 21%

off-duty(122) 5%

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SummarySummary• high number of OECD states do not keep

statistics• mortality due to casualties is significantly

higher on non-OECD flag ships• no significant differences for other causes

of death• study enabled to estimate the degree of

under-reporting of available statistics of loss of life at sea

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Case Study SingaporeCase Study Singapore• study covered:

– deaths of seafarers signed on Singapore ships– deaths reported to Singapore Mercantile Marine

Office» files of marine inquiries not made available

» additional shipping casualties identified from other sources

• study does not cover:» deaths of Singapore seafarers on ships of other flags

» deaths of Singapore seafarers while not signed-on

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Categorisation of DeathsCategorisation of Deaths

• 8 different categories:– maritime casualties– occupational accidents– illnesses– individual persons missing at sea– homicides– suicides– off-duty deaths– unclear causes

Causes of Death (Singapore)Causes of Death (Singapore)

occup. Accidents (53)

missing at sea (21)

illnesses (70)

homicide (6)

casualties of the ship (193)

suicide (7)

off-duty accident (19)

unclear (4)

Deaths due to casualties of the ship (per ship per year)

Deaths due to casualties of the ship (per ship per year)

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Deaths due to occupational accidents per ship per yearDeaths due to occupational accidents per ship per year

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Case Study Hong KongCase Study Hong Kong

• study covered:– deaths of seafarers signed on Hong Kong ships– deaths reported to the Mercantile Marine Office

» files of marine inquiries available

• study does not cover:– deaths of HK seafarers on ships of other flags– deaths of HK seafarers while not signed-on

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Categorisation of DeathsCategorisation of Deaths

• 8 different categories:– maritime casualties– occupational accidents– illnesses– individual persons missing at sea– homicides– suicides– off-duty deaths– unclear causes

Causes of Death (Hong Kong)Causes of Death (Hong Kong)

Mar. Disaster56.1%

Illness17.1%

Off-Duty0.8%

Unknown1.6%

Suicide3.3%

Missing7.3% Homicide

3.3%

Occup. Acc.10.6%

Fatalities per ship-year at risk

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Summary of Case StudiesSummary of Case Studies

• both studies examine only sudden deaths due to accidents and illnesses

• follow-up studies not possible• seafarers working on deck have a higher

risk of an occupational accident• senior officers and petty officers over-

represented

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Results of Singapore studyResults of Singapore study

• occupational accidents were not investigated by the flag state

• several casualties involving total loss of the ship were not investigated by the flag state

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I swam through oceans and sailed through libraries.

I swam through oceans and sailed through libraries.

Herman MelvilleMoby Dick

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Policy ImplicationsPolicy Implications• estimated 2,500 seafarers die annually, abt.

50% in casualties• fundamental change in attitude towards

collection of statistics needed• regulators should target prevention of other

causes of death instead of solely focussing on maritime casualties

• Occupational Health and Safety is a neglected area of regulation in shipping

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Traditional shipping countries look better after their seafarers !

Traditional shipping countries look better after their seafarers !

Probably not !

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LimitationsLimitations

• exploratory study, but such data were previously not available

• over reliance on OECD flag data

• no access to data during the collection stage