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Fatigue Resilience for the Modern Seafarer

Throughout history, every sea-based story, folk tale or fable shares a common theme: the resilience of the seafarer. Whether recounting explorations, wartime missions or keeping the global trade moving throughout a pandemic, the endurance of the seafarer is evident.

That resilience is now being tested. As has been well documented, the inherent challenges of working at sea are being stretched.
 

Whilst maritime stakeholders have acknowledged this and continue to implement resilience strategies, the truth is that it’s a big part of the global crew shortage, which projects a nearly 90,000 deficit of trained officers by as early as 2026. This is likely to lead to operational impacts, increased costs, potential disruptions, and, most concerning, a decline in global standards as demand for new personnel increases.
 

Maritime resilience studies conducted by companies such as ISWAN, WMU, and Nautilus International have demonstrated that building resilience through training programmes can mitigate the adverse effects of the challenges mentioned above.

This article will cover the factors that contribute to seafarers' fatigue, how to deal with fatigue at sea, and the lessons learnt from other industries from their experiences with staff shortages.
 

Types of Challenges

Watchkeeping
Project HORIZON, a research project that brought together 11 academic and further shipping institutions, found that the fatigue experienced by seafarers from watchkeeping patterns would be considered too dangerous to drive a car, characterised by difficulties in getting enough sleep when off watch and a degradation in performance and reaction times.

Sleep Deprivation
Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD) is a type of circadian rhythm sleep disorder that happens when an individual's internal body clock and their required sleep-wake schedule don’t align. The key characteristics of SWSD are difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, tiredness during waking hours and reduced performance.

Heavy Workload and Commercial Pressures
Excessive workload, tight shipping schedules, and the need to meet deadlines all contribute to fatigue, as seafarers may be required to work longer hours than scheduled.
A shortage of crew members can lead to increased workloads and longer hours for those on board, further contributing to fatigue.

Environmental Factors
Weather, temperature, ship motion, humidity variations and noise are all common issues for seafarers. Each of these factors impairs the body's ability to rest and increases stress levels. Both are conducive to increased fatigue.

Lifestyle Choices
Regular maintenance tasks for vessel components are in place to ensure that equipment remains operational and reliable when needed. The human body is no different, and this routine ‘maintenance’ is often overlooked.
Fatigue can be attributed to one or more lifestyle issues, such as poor sleep habits, a lack of exercise, or unhealthy eating habits.

The challenges outlined above, along with other factors, can lead to stress, anxiety and depression. If not treated correctly or early enough, it can leave lasting effects on both the individual concerned and the organisation they represent. It is estimated that 25% of all maritime casualties are caused by fatigue.
But as an industry, we’re aware of these risks. What’s the next step to ensure the crew's wellbeing at sea?

 

Increasing Crew Resilience

Working Hours Enforcement

Goal: Prevention of fatigue and the promotion of recovery by adhering to rest periods.

Resilience Strategies:

• Strict enforcement of STCW rest hours with real-time monitoring.

• Encourage a culture shift onboard to challenge commercial pressure.

• Include fatigue risk as a part of the daily briefs.

• Support and encourage speaking up about overworking.
   

Sleep Routine

Goal: Improvements in sleep quality despite the challenges faced at sea.  

Resilience Strategies:

• Crew education on SWSD and how to protect individuals' core sleep.

• Allow ‘buffer time’ before and after shifts to promote wind-down and rest.

• Provide sleep aids (earplugs, eye masks, white noise machines, etc.)

• Promote officer training to avoid unnecessary interruptions during rest time

Onboard Safety Culture

Goal: Create a psychologically safe and proactive work environment.

Resilience Strategies:

• Removal of a blame culture to be replaced by a learning culture.

• The involvement of all crew in safety discussions and toolbox talks.

• Rewards for safe and supportive behaviours. 

Task Rotation

Goal: The removal of monotony and promotion of learning to reduce mental fatigue. 

Resilience Strategies:

• Where possible, rotate seafarers' daily duties to balance cognitive and physical workload.

• Use rotation on daily duties to identify crews' hidden or leadership skills.

• Ensure task rotation retains ownership values, building adaptability and confidence.

Taking Fatigue Seriously

Goal: Fatigue is to be treated as a serious health and safety issue

Resilience Strategies:

• Include the symptoms of fatigue in safety briefs and toolbox talks.

• Officer training that teaches recognition of the early warning signs and how to intervene.

• Encourage crew to self-report symptoms of fatigue without fear.

• Compile data on fatigue and take appropriate action based on the results.

Structured Resilience Training
Goal: The individual tools to handle stress, pressure and setbacks effectively

Resilience Strategies:

• Standardise the need for all seafarers to attend training on the effects of stress and recovery habits.

• Training should have a maritime theme covering scenarios such as isolation, extended time away, etc.

• Allow time for short resilience practices to be included in seafarers' daily routine.

• Crew to complete refresher training or microlearning during contract rotations.

Peer Support Programs
Goal: Build a connection between crews, reduce the stigma of fatigue, and create a culture of care.

Resilience Strategies:

• Selected crew act as ‘Peer Support Champions’ or ‘Mental Health First Aiders’.

• Put in place support systems that are accessible across differing nationalities and ranks.

• Create initiatives to encourage informal peer spaces (group exercise class, shared meals, etc.)

These suggested programs are not just about the wellbeing of seafarers, it’s a strategic response to the aforementioned global crew shortage. As the industry struggles to attract and keep skilled seafarers, crew resilience becomes a key differentiator. A resilient crew is not only safer and more engaged, but they are also more likely to remain in the industry long-term. With the proactive support of mental and physical health, today companies can reduce staff turnover tomorrow, helping to stabilise and strengthen the workforce at sea.

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For further information on how Isca Wellbeing can strengthen your crew's resilience, contact info@isca-wellbeing.com