A Mariner's guide on Human Element Issues · 2013-10-08 · master mariner who has sailed on and commanded ships with so many diverse nationalities, there are a few points which I

A Mariner's guide on Human Element Issues

A collection of essays written for human

element bulletins or research centres by Captain Shahrokh Khodayari

Contents

Chapter Title Page

Foreword 1

I. Multi-national crew: in words and in action 2

II. On board training: the essence and requirements 6

III. Physical health problems at sea 10

IV. Seafarers’ mental conditions 15

V. Receiving people on board 26

VI. Effects of accommodation and living quarters’ conditions on seafarers

30

VII. The auditor’s encounters 34

VIII. A master's solitude 36

IX. ISM: believe it or not 38

X. O' God! Have mercy on these amphibians 46

References and further reading 49

1

“In the name of God, the Almighty protector of all” Foreword The human element is an undeniably important and vital part of any system of management, so studying the various aspects can help to improve organizational and individual efficiency as well as avoid incidents and mishaps. When accidents/incidents are investigated, the root causes of many can be attributed to human error, or to human element originated issues; even if one cannot generalize the aforementioned statement, it is statistically proven true about maritime life and ship-associated problems. (1) There are many essays and studies which have dealt with these issues.(2)I cannot reasonably claim to know or have seen/observed them all, for it is a very difficult or impossible task. What I have to say this booklet are merely my personal ideas gained during years of service, through detailed observation at sea, and through deductions achieved through various studies based on human behaviour and psychoanalysis references and textbooks. It has taken a lot of time and effort to accomplish the collecting of notes and observations to be able to compile these few scribbled lines; hence I very much wish to share them with those who might go through the same process, perhaps easing things off a bit . I have no contention to state that what is mentioned in this booklet is correct and true; on the contrary, I believe that many may find the statements unacceptable or might have quite different experiences and views. Therefore, the objective of the text that follows – by way of a collection of essays written for human element bulletins or research centres(3)- is to assist readers, especially newly promoted masters, - in analyzing and if possible deterring troubles which might arise due to human element related topics on board ships. Thus, it does not create any responsibility for the writer for applying or not applying the suggestions - they are solely guidelines and should be taken as such. I would appreciate and welcome comments and I accept all shortcomings as well as the existence of mistakes beforehand, I hope that the booklet will gain the attention of colleagues and be found useful. Captain Shahrokh Khodayari [email protected]

2

I. Multi-national crew: in words and in action Summary In today’s maritime world, running a vessel with only a single nationality is nearly impossible; as a master mariner who has sailed on and commanded ships with so many diverse nationalities, there are a few points which I would like to share with the readers. Having differences is undeniable, but we may be able to tackle the troubles associated with them if we try to identify and analyze the root causes. The human being has quite a lot of versatile aspects with respect to behaviour and living patterns but one may start with scrutinizing primeval points of existence - some of which are quoted here, along with possible solutions and/or recommendations. Points to ponder 1. Eating habits In the old textbooks of biology which try to generalize matters, it is often mentioned that “we are what we eat”. I would like to add that “we even smell what we eat!” (4) This may seem a bit odd at first glance but those who travel a lot would agree that when you enter a new place, there is often a particular smell which attracts your attention; this has of course been initiated from the kitchens in the area, amongst other things. It is a fact that in a society there is a typical type and group of food being used; the people would also give off smells through the evaporation of sweat and breathing etc, which have been originated from the food intakes. When having a newcomer arrives on board, the existing personnel would also realize this, which may be grounds for obnoxious attitudes from others; for the newcomer this is very much disliked because he/she does not understand or feel it, but it is a fact as many declare so. The other point is how we eat; in some societies, slurping the soup may not be seen as bad. The same is how one uses the utensils. The way you use the fork and knife or spoon and on occasions, if ever you use them, is a question. The backgrounds of religion and belief would also cause differences, such as halal, kosher∗, vegetarian, etc, but they are not discussed here as being so obvious and known matters. 2. Washing and bathing habits I do not want to call it hygiene because they are not really synonyms, but depending upon the temperature of the atmosphere, people differ by the number and frequency of washing and bathing. In some societies they may use various oils/creams during or even after bathing. These may be not so likeable in other places of the world. Although this point is usually adjusted after a few days of living on board, it may well be continued and create a source of bitter reaction from shipmates and colleagues. In some societies, blowing one’s nose may be very impolite but in another it may be a very common thing to observe even while at a dining table or in restaurants. 3. Dressing habits On ships which are operated by companies that require the wearing of uniform, this may not be so prominent but the fact that people of different nations would prefer to wear folk dresses, or at times move around half naked remains there. While at rest or off duty, this is quite a normal thing to see. This may not be a grave matter but it is a sign of appearance differentiation, and may be taken by shipmates at times as if some guys are trying to segregate or categorize themselves.

∗ Kosher: is the type of food (mainly meat) which has been prepared with due regard to and strict following of

Jewish belief and practices

3

Having long/short hair, keeping an untrimmed beard or wearing earrings (onto which side?) may attract attention or arouse misperceptions which can give grounds for stirring up differences and possible dislikes. There is a motto that says that one should not judge a person by his/her looks, but in reality it does not work like that. The primary conceptions usually are based on appearances. Here again, the cultural backgrounds which may have been influenced by a lot of factors and even politics, play an important role. We cannot do much about this save only to admit its existence and have due regard to the many unknown factors in human behaviour and the somehow impossibility of foretelling the kind of reactions. (5) 4. Language barriers Having different mother tongues is surely a basis for differences, but when they want to communicate in a common language, a lot of funny misinterpretations happen which may become sources of trouble. In the science of linguistics, the correct translation is an art. It would vary from one individual to the other depending upon cultural background, general knowledge, ability to speak in the mother tongue, the group of languages that they belong to, and other factors which are beyond the scope of this booklet. (6)(7) The intonations and emphasis by which a statement is made can be taken as aggressive or impolite by one group of people while others may take it as quite natural and common. At times the choice of words due to lack of vocabulary or direct translation can be taken to be wrong and offensive although there might have been no insipid intentions beyond. What we all agree is the fact that at times a pronunciation or incorrect statement in another language may be the basis for disagreement and making fun of each other or leading to problems, due to misconceptions or misunderstandings. When the crews are collected from various places on the earth, the abovementioned fact is there; we must have it in the back of our minds and make allowances. 5. Working systems Some of the personnel may have left over patterns of work and procedures from their former employers/ships; this may on occasions create misinterpretations and lead to difficulties. In one culture doing the work could be in a traditional way and as easy as it comes with keeping relations on top, but in another the rules may override all the relations whether liked or disliked. In a group of people they may have learnt not to do anything unless ordered to or told so, but others are somehow automated workers and do not need constant attention or supervision. Although a lot of efforts have been made to facilitate all these by unifying procedures through IMO and related legislations such as SOLAS (ISM Code) as well as other recommendations and guidelines, this is still existent especially amongst the ratings - and will most probably remain so. After all the above-mentioned points, it is very important to state that having a gang/group within a vessel is nothing desired by the command and management. The whole crew should be trying to live and work together in a single group and any segregation will surely lead to bitterness and possibly a repugnant∗atmosphere on board. This surely will impede the operation and running of the vessel.

∗ Repugnant: uneasy, vile and dislikeable

4

To achieve the difficult goal of making personnel live and work together in a friendly way, which is undoubtedly a prime concern of every master mariner in command of a multi-nationally manned ship; the following practically experienced probable solutions may be worth mentioning: - Try not to ever discriminate amongst the personnel on board. In a general point of view this is a

part of implying proper discipline which should be adherent with the management commitment, and physically seen.

- An order to one of the crew, who speaks the same language as the master while somebody else

is present, may be taken as a favour or listening to him/her in that language may be construed as backbiting or spying.

- The senior officers should be briefed and instructed that while appointing jobs for those who are

general purpose sailors and have no specific job description; they must observe fairness; the difficult errands should be reasonably allotted/divided and favours like shore leave must be fairly granted. Use of ranks/positions or names in a polite manner should always be encouraged. No one, including the master, should ever address others with nomenclature like ‘Indian OS’, ‘black engineer’ or even things like ‘fat/short fellow’, etc. It is obvious that, this may be taken as offensive and should be avoided.

- Anyone who has experience of management is aware of the difficulties related to trying to have

fair treatment for subordinates; but, all may agree that a neutral look onto race, colour, connections or non-performance related preferences can be accepted and judged as fair by the majority. This may only be achieved by promulgating clearly that those who perform better and are honest, willing and good workers along with good conduct will be appreciated and preferred.

- The crew even while being questioned for mistakes or penalized should be treated/called upon in

relation to their job or conduct in an ipso facto∗ manner and any relevance or regard to other things like nationality should be discouraged.

- Hence no other criteria apart from the workmanship standards are to be considered; this should

be done in action which as always speaks louder than words. - Try to consider the eating patterns of the crew in menu preparation; due regard should be given to

inclusion of types of food that the majority of personnel like and, on occasions allow some of them to cook their local food, and if possible for all on board.

- For different tastes, the cook may prepare spice-less food and keep various spices on the table

so that those who like them can add as much. If some of the crew, like less or more meat or any other thing in the food, these can be instructed to the stewards to provide the same dish in the requested way, so a reasonable balance can be made.

- Organize barbeques and let them fry the meat or chicken in their own way; on those occasions

call everyone to participate and let them play different types of music and various tunes. In this way, the different nationalities learn from each others’ fun and pleasure aspects and try to tolerate them. During these occasions many of the crew members, especially the ratings, will approach senior officers with some requests or only talking to be social; it is vital to know that while people communicate the alienations usually fade out.

- Little by little they may also start to enjoy living along with the others as the atmosphere grows

friendly and the personnel find common grounds for relationships. On one occasion I had a rating who was feeling terribly homesick and lonely; a few days of joining the vessel, he was nearly crying as it was his first time with another company and different nationality of crew. The same guy was physically in tears after some six months on board and was imploring me to extend his contract so that he could stay longer. He even learnt a few words of the predominant ∗ Ipso facto: by and related to the very fact and act

5

language and happily attended gatherings and enjoyed the food. Work-wise he was quite a good rating too. - Listen to your crew; let them complain at times, this way you will identify the grounds of bitterness

and at times you can intervene and stop grievances. There will be chances of releasing the pressure by only talking to someone and you may clear a lot of misunderstandings.

- Most of the crew only want to have their captain communicate with them, and to see that he does

not ignore his personnel because of their colour, rank, nationality, etc. - This may seem a bit pessimistic, but in critical and volatile situations it is not a bad idea to remind

the staff that they are bound to live with and tolerate each other in a way mercenaries do, in order to achieve a common goal which is having a job and living by it. So why not make the best out of it and enjoy the small community? Recalling the fact that every mariner spends more than two thirds of his working life-time at sea, then the most logical acceptance is to pass it smoothly and if possible with good memories left over from the fellow sea-mates, who are also in the same boat!

- There is an old proverb which says “A rolling stone gathers no moss”∗; a perfect example of this is

the life of seafarers who either loose their friends or make not many, because of being nearly always away at sea, in exile or partial deprivation and disparity. (8)

- Telling this to seamen sometimes wakes them up to the fact to take the benefit, while they have

the chance of making good acquaintance with people of other continents by living and working peacefully with them instead of looking for differences.

- Last but surely not the least, it is a prominent fact that the seafarers are really one of the most

recognizable categories of people on the earth who have very high tolerance levels and adjustable/adaptable aptitudes; this is due to the nature of their profession and making them accept other human beings as colleagues or co-workers. It is not an impossible task to lift the threshold limits of irritations or provocations.

We should bear in mind that fairness and consideration for others is the essence, and if at certain occasions abrasions occur, this may be attributable to human nature and the conduct of various characters. By knowing some basic principles, if we cannot stop the differences, we can definitely have control over them.

∗ A rolling stone gathers no moss: a proverb used mainly about people who travel/move a lot and so they

make very few friends because of that way of living

6

II. On board training: the essence and requirements Summary The matter of training the seafarers for their position in a practical way at sea is a major concern. The international regulations known as STCW have defined the requirements in the theoretical and practical aspects of maritime training; the focus of these notes is the sea-phase training and associated problems for cadets. There are many areas which have to be looked into when considering elements affecting training at sea, some of which are mentioned below: Primary understanding of life at sea The first training phase at sea if done at early stages - i.e. before they spend a long time at the academy - can help the cadets to have a better understanding of the future profession and life at sea. However, if the academy has had a proper system like an ‘open door day’∗ and issued bulletins or information sheets, a lot can be grasped prior to applying for such course. But, still the best understanding can be achieved while the person is physically at sea. This is related to the type of vessel and many factors like trade areas but the most important part seems to be the officers, crew and the master who can really instigate∗∗ the good or bad ideas and have appreciable influence. If the experience at the earlier stages cannot satisfy the person to continue with the job, then a lot of later troubles can be avoided by quitting/changing career. Time spent for primary training in the schedule As per STCW requirements, for a deck cadet to be able to attend the competency examinations, a minimum of 12 months at sea from which a part is done along with a training officer, is required. In some companies under certain administrations, a minimum of six months with the presence of a training officer is needed and then after the college session they are sent for another six months as senior cadet, so called. The allocation of six months with a training officer could be enough but we should see the time being divided in a way such that nearly the whole first month is spent getting to know one’s way around the vessel and getting adjusted to the living conditions such as food, noise and associated problems. It is a fact that life at sea is a unique experience and if we take elder or less adaptable people, the adjusting period may even be longer; but for youngsters allowing for about a month would not seem too much. After this, there are about 4 to 4½ months which will be spent for effective studies and practices on board. The way this time is spent is very important; halving the days to mornings in the classroom and afternoons on deck/in the engine room will be a good choice. The physical work is better done in the afternoons, as after lunch the level of attention comes down and the cadets tend to fall asleep, but this may not affect the work as much as it has influence on theoretical studies. While planning for the training schedule, we should consider the watch-keeping arrangements of the cadets as well. (9) However, a certain amount of pressure is needed to be practiced with due regard to

∗ Open door day: a day or a period of time during which the training centres leave the doors open to every one

to come and see/discuss the training system and whereabouts in a physical and closer way ∗∗ Instigate: to urge or to bring about by incitement or persuasion

7

time-tightness to be able to make them learn and be prepared for difficult assignments; but the trainer must bear in mind that for those having kept the night watches, paying required attention to the subjects in the classroom in the morning sessions is not an easy task and for some it may be near to impossible. Then the first hour(s) can be for exercises/revisions and things that if missed can be recoverable from fellow cadets or by personal efforts, rather than starting a new subject having left some of the trainees asleep due to the previous night’s watches. To achieve a balance is quite hard, as living 24 hours on board, it may be a suggestion that at occasions a session of about thirty minutes to one hour can be held at an appropriate time (although not ordinary according to the shore standards) when nearly everyone has had enough rest, say one hour after supper, during which a new subject can be taught or teaching initialized. This way we may reach good results through innovation. During the time that I was a training officer on board, I used to hold classes at various times if weather or other factors like the above did not permit a classic system, and the effect seemed quite acceptable. It may also be a worthy suggestion to try to teach some work-habits and living schemes to the cadets; this may include behaviour towards others, and having tolerance and ability for communications with other shipmates. Although this is surely a part of the programme with respect to the discipline and practical training, I would like to suggest to include it in the daily schedule in a sort of hidden way, like: when the cadets are tired with the sophisticated stuff, to give a break by telling them how to address the captain or the officers, how to move around when in some ports, how to receive officials on board or how to analyze the happenings around and so many other topics as necessary. The last part of their junior training will be wasted by being home/love-sick and getting tired of life on board in the typical way of isolation; in other words, in mental preparation to get out and away from the ship. (10) This is somehow so for most mariners that nearing to the end of their serving time they are a bit absent minded and want to get away from the ship. For the cadets this time cannot be effectively counted as very productive. The inclusion of English language training in a general way along with the compulsory courses of special English is also very important for many seafarers from the areas where English is not the predominant language; this is a vital part and the drawbacks can be observed more and more as stepping up the ranks. There are surely many problems in the maritime world due to communication barriers, a major part of which can be attributed to inadequate ability in making proper information transfer in writing or orally; however; the influence of general knowledge of a common language such as English should be borne in mind. Although the text books of maritime vocabulary might have already been successfully read and passed, this may not necessarily mean that one can make proper and professional statements which can be used in a court, or on many other occasions as evidence, etc. The senior cadet time (the secondary phase of sea-time) In some organizations where only minimum requirements are taken, this time may be limited to six months. The question is whether a trainee can acquire the abilities within that period or not. The answer cannot be a word like ‘yes’ or ‘no’; it all depends on the individual and the circumstances, but in general this may not suffice. According to the feedback received after cadets have graduated and join their vessels, many masters complain about the lack of abilities amongst these types of officers. This can be a base for improper upbringing of officers; it is very important to note that when an officer joins the vessel, he/she is expected to know the jobs in a relatively overall way - there may be occasions when guidance is necessary, but the main areas of duties should have been generally understood. While carrying out the assigned tasks, the officer should show interest for learning the next position’s duties and in that respect could be helped or directed; but if the primary training is so short, there may

8

not have been enough time to grasp the various aspects of let’s say third officer’s/junior engineer’s duties, such that when assigned as one, he/she would try to fill the gaps missed; when and where it may not be the right time or place and will definitely affect the safety and workmanship on board. Unfortunately this may continue in further ranks as well and the result is obvious. During the secondary stage of the cadetship, the person may just be unlucky to serve with a group of officers and crew who may not really bother about training or motivating/pushing him/her for learning to become an officer; as a result the time will not be as productive as it should. The other point is the individual’s abilities. Although some cadets may be smarter than others, limiting the time to six months which shall be spent on one or hardly two ships - and on occasions idly - may not be considered a very effective idea. To become a merchant marine officer if one does not require very exemplary and excellent theoretical abilities, he/she surely needs a lot of patience and allowance for setting abilities, to be capable of taking charge of a watch, affecting the safety of the personnel and the ship plus the environmental protection, etc. This requires time. It is understood that any extension of the training period has financial burdens and every system likes to have earlier achievements by shortening that time and appointing the persons as serving officers as soon as possible. On the other hand, nobody can deny the huge losses which may have to be incurred if an accident takes place due to a human error basically attributable to insufficient training. What may be possible is to try to arrive at a reasonable compromise by neither shortening the time dangerously nor extending it unnecessarily. Basically the STCW rules stipulate the minimum, but the personnel management should consider various elements while recruiting with respect to educational matters. If an officer is required to serve on different type of ships, it might be a good idea to send him/her for certain periods of service and training on board those classes and categories of vessels - let’s say an extra three months, or on occasions six months can be added. Surely while requiring such extensions due reference to the personal files shall be appropriately taken into consideration. We may as well state that the minimal requirements set by the regulations need to be revised. There may be much statistical data backing the idea that the training at sea has been so brief that the result has given rise to hasty training and unsafe officers at sea. While looking at the students in the academy, you may find very bright boys and girls but this may not necessarily mean that they will be good officers; one can easily find instances for that statement. What I have tried to highlight here is the point that the practical training, if not more important than the theoretical part, is as valuable at least. We must spend time, allow for subsiding the quickly learnt subjects and also accept the financial burdens if we are really planning to have well trained staff for the vessels. Only 20 years ago we were obliged to undertake over 24 or 30 months at sea before appearing for the examinations, and now with so much sophistication in the industry and the very important fact of having ‘faster ships’, we hardly give any time for learning. It is true that we do not see many derrick operated or steam-ships today, but the navigation and traffic have become much more difficult and the ships’ engineering designs have changed a lot as well. Remembering also the fact that many new international regulations and consequential requirements have entered into force; above all ‘the reduction of manning levels’ would surely necessitate having more qualified/better trained personnel. We surely need to allow more time and financial assets for training nowadays - and take it as a wise and reasonable investment. In order to achieve a well trained status, it is needful to instigate so-called ‘Officer like qualities’. This concept usually will consider knowledge and work-capability together. Part of both should have been studied and learnt in the college; and if the college system has been mainly taking care of academic

9

training, as it mostly does nowadays, then the main part of the practical education remains for the on-board training. The trainees at sea should be given responsible duties and their accomplishment must be closely observed. This task may at times be construed as leaving trainees as sole persons on the watch, which is surely not abiding by the regulations. The watch-keeping if allotted in an independent system, should be backed up and supported perhaps in a ‘hidden’ way. For instance leaving the trainee alone and checking oftentimes or remotely. It can also be in a way to stay along with the cadet but allow him or her to make decisions under supervision and use the officer in charge as a reference – as an observer or corrector. We must know that responsibility can be taught and the qualities of an officer should be given the chance of trial, exercise and improvement while making and correcting the mistakes. We may as well remember that the officers are not expected to have inherited qualifications and although basic intrinsic roots might be needed, they should be helped, guided, supported, monitored and trained. There is surely a lot of commitment and patience required especially from the master and the senior officers. Moreover the training on board includes the present officers and crew as well, and cannot be limited to cadets. The master, senior ranks and other officers should have the training of personnel as one of the important items on their agenda. This is very much required especially when for instance an officer is due for promotion. We must allow the person to actually practice the next rank, on occasions that the level of responsibility is very high; this sort of training should be done cautiously. If there is a chief officer on board who is due to become a master, it would be a great help for him to be involved in the correspondence by the master and be in the picture of the routine duties of command. Of course for the tasks like manoeuvring the vessel to the pilot station or such operations that affect safety, there should be an appropriate and constant supervision plus double/cross checking. Allowing for this to take place, the master and senior officers should not only consider the risk-taking part, but also the help which is being given both to the person involved as well as the whole system and themselves that will surely benefit from the appropriate training. Although the idea of practical training should not be mistaken with taking risks or giving jobs to inexperienced people, we need to think about the future at all times and be as realistic as possible.

10

III. Physical health problems at sea Summary There are a number of diseases and physical health problems which are frequent and more observable at sea. The purpose of the following comments is not considering them from a General Practitioner’s or doctor’s view, but only to try to have a general glance at, identify, somehow categorize and give a few guidelines to confront and if possible to tackle them as the master of a ship. In order to be able to identify the probable physical problems, one must try to categorize their attributable causes. The following are considered as the predominant areas: Accidents When there is a personal accident, consequent physical problems may occur. Depending upon the various circumstances, the associated remedy would differ. Part of this involves first aid treatment which will have been explained during shore training – this will not be included here. Some seafarers tend to give strangely unsolicited and non-scientific advice to their fellow shipmates, which should seldom be allowed. It could be especially grave with multi–nationally manned vessels where the variety of local ideas can be numerous. It is important not to permit application of any traditional/herbal or whatever else medicine and remedy without consultation with a doctor through CIRM∗or any other proper source/authority. Local herbs or medications may have been developed during many centuries with a lot of origins such as generation/race and genetic criteria as well as many intervening factors like geographical conditions and local flora and fauna. Therefore, the variables are very diverse and no-one can be sure about the true sources, so their application especially in accidents and for the curing of acute diseases should be avoided. Food related sickness Constipation. This is very frequently observed on board; it may be due to having little physical movement which can be because of the type of work, like radio operators or even the galley crew, as the nature of their work does not constitute a lot of movement; or even while cooking they may try tasting different dishes and spices, consequently leading to overeating and improper digestion. It can be because of eating less vegetables/fruits or consuming mostly frozen foodstuff as ingredients for preparation of the meals. Most spices may cause irritations to the digestion system and eventually lesser or contractive movements leading to constipation. Some personnel may get constipated due to over-eating or eating at improper timings/intervals. Those officers or ratings who keep watches or do shift-work usually tend to eat irregularly and with lesser appetite. When one has just got up from sleep, having a fatty or deep fried meal will surely lead to less bowel movements. There are instances that smoking too much or alcohol/drug abuse, or even nervous tension and depression can also give rise to constipation. (11) As it may happen to many people, changing their living places or routine of life while travelling can also cause digestion problems, although this is temporary and goes away after a few days on board - but, it should be duly considered In order to overcome the constipation problem, we can apply some simple solutions: - Encourage personnel to drink a lot of liquids, especially water;

∗ CIRM: the International Radio Medical Centre (Rome)

11

- Avoid deep fried and greasy food - a generous amount of fibre rich provisions is a good line to follow;

- Take regular exercise, even in the form of pacing up and down; - Fresh vegetables and fruit must be a permanent part of any meal. This cannot always be

accomplished but having them as much as possible in any form can be very good. - Ships can order a variety of vegetables while passing the Suez Canal and at any other ports

where they are very versatile and also good for quality/prices. Nature itself provides good remedies for keeping a balance of chemicals and minerals in the body. It is quite possible that drinking the water from a particular area or eating locally produced vegetables can help the body to maintain/protect itself in a better way. It may need a laboratory to prove the difference, but at times we can even tell the difference in taste of, for instance, parsley from one area to another, although they are considered as the same vegetable. Provided that health and hygiene precautions are observed, it is a good idea to get the fresh provisions from each port of call, even if it is a small amount, so that the need for vegetables and the process of chemical and mineral replenishment can be accomplished. On board ship there may be crew members who do not like eating some type of vegetables due to eating habits, nationalities, etc; then, the vegetables can be served in different forms: in soups, boiled or even fried - still better than not eating them at all! At times, the cook may be ordered to add vegetables in some dishes not so common to have that ingredient and give a short lecture on how good this can be for health or one’s sexual potency! This way they will eat almost all with eager pleasure. - Advise watch keepers to get up about half to one hour before meal time, to move about a little

and start eating with liquids and not heavy dishes. - Discourage over-eating by providing some snacks in the saloons/fridges, so that the personnel

would not be tempted to eat extra to keep themselves until the next meal. They can have a grab at snacks if they feel hungry. In this way, a routine of eating ‘little but often’ can be followed.

- Avoid smoking/alcohol as far as it can be. - Avoiding nervous pressure and depression is not a simple task and may have to be talked about

in a separate part. - Medication for constipation is preferably to be avoided as far as possible as the body may

become immune to it; but, if the problem is for a long time, some mild medicines (pharmaceutical - not local or hand made!) can be given. A few drops of olive/vegetable oil in a glass of lukewarm water if not miraculous, cannot be dangerous either. Starting the day with a glass of water in the morning can also help to deter constipation.

Diarrhoea. This is not a frequent occurrence, but if it does occur it should be dealt with carefully. It can rarely be due to some food which then will not be very persistent, but if diarrhoea continues, it can be a sign of food poisoning or some type of infectious/viral disease. On these occasions, a doctor should be consulted and appropriate/professional advice is required. Ulcers and Gastritis. Those who have a history of ulcers are not really fit for sea life. But still you can see a lot of them on board especially those with a peptic ulcer. They should bring their medicines along and also follow a special diet. The advice for them along with those who suffer from digestive system disorders and diseases of the colon (also very common on board) is a general guide as above to avoid greasy/fried food, alcohol, smoking etc. The healthy food guides are the same as ashore with the difference that at sea it is not always easy to find what you like; then, a compromise should be made and while having choices to get different

12

provisions, a more health-conscious aspect should be taken into consideration. To satisfy all appetites is nearly impossible but the red-lines should be drawn by health and hygiene criteria. Physical health problems attributable to climate/weather Sea life is a type of living which makes one suffer a lot of weather and climate changes within a short period of time. For people living ashore a change in weather or seasons cannot be quite so disturbing, as it happens slowly and allows time to adapt and adjust to the changes. For seafarers, passing through an area of high into low pressure, as it happens under certain speed and quite quickly, can at times be disturbing. Let us consider passing through a frontal system or a cyclonic depression; it is amazing to note that over a few hours, the pressure could change by 20 millibars, or a vessel will experience dry, wet, warm and cold atmosphere which will definitely affect the personnel. We can see typically: headaches, nausea, dizziness, earache, sleeping disorders and, in women, menstruation irregularities.(12)The extent of these troubles will vary from person to person but is surely related to sea-experience and of course dependent upon individuals’ tolerance levels and physical conditions. In general we may say that everyone gets a bit of the said matters due to weather and climate. All these problems will usually subside after some time, as the body will adjust itself slowly. In order to help the staff, we may allow longer rest periods and provide more likeable food. It can be a good practice to warn those who, for instance, suffer from hyper-tension or the ladies on board, to be prepared for and more cautious if at all helpful; otherwise, not much can be done for the abrupt changes of pressure etc. The other category of climate related diseases can be mentioned as hot and cold weather problems. Working in very hot or cold weather can be very disturbing. This is also varied from one nationality/individual to another on board. The weather considered pleasant by people from tropical areas may be very hot for those originally from mountainous regions. So it is also for relatively cold weather. As a general rule the ambient temperature should be kept at a standard level that nearly all consider satisfactory. Hence, having a good air conditioning system on board is vital. Here again the food plays an important role. In cold weather a menu with so many carbohydrates and fibres can help a lot, eg: different soups that are full of vegetables. This can help to avoid catching cold and influenza and a lot of consequent troubles. Wearing appropriate clothing at all times is necessary, along with the code of safe working practices and safety ware, proper dressing for the prevailing weather can be as important. In hot weather areas, a lot of skin diseases, ear infections, stomach upsets and fatigue or sleeplessness can be expected. General hygiene can be the most important. Serve cold drinks and encourage personnel to drink a lot and take salt tablets. Some people even get nervous while sweating - this can be a hazard; those who sweat a lot very often get external ear infections. We must allow more rest if possible and advise use of headbands for restriction of sweat getting into eyes/ears. For an engineer who works in hot air with ear muffs, nothing can be more easing than frequently calling into the engine control room, and breathing cool air. This will also allow the removal of the earmuffs and will deter Otitis externa*. At certain times we may even consider shifting the work-hours and periods to lesser disturbing hours of the day. We can consider the times of sunrise and sunset, then change the work schedule accordingly. This way, the work efficiency can also be maintained.

* Otitis externa: inflammation (swelling) of the external ear canal

13

It is also important to bear in mind at all time, the ILO/STCW requirements with respect to rest periods and hours of work etc. Work-related diseases In every profession there will be certain types of diseases which occur more often. For seafarers, the following can occur:

Body/waist pain, headaches, hernia. These happen in most seafarers. During rough seas, it is very difficult to sleep, which will surely lead to different types of body pain. These types of problems can also be due to a heavy work load and moving objects around with improper lifting methods. The engineers are very much prone to these types of ailments. Education and strict observation to follow safe working practices is the way to lessen the occurrence of this category. Heart and coronary problems. These are also not very difficult to find. Those on board who undergo high stresses and have too many responsibilities are the possible persons with the heart problems. The master is mainly the carrier of most responsibilities - you can imagine how prone he/she will be. Smoking, alcohol and wrong eating habits are also major reasons but the nervous condition can be a dominating factor. If troubles with heart exist for any of the staff on a ship, it is obvious that only professional help can do any good and, apart from some primary first aid, not much can be done on board. Varicose veins. Varicose veins in the feet and legs of those who stand up for very long hours, such as deck officers, are a common ailment. Then we can teach the personnel how to reduce the pressure on ankle or feet veins by changing positions or having one foot higher than the other, and also using proper shoes. Supplying soft matting for the bridge and control rooms are amongst some possible solutions for reduction of this type of occurrence.

It is very difficult to attempt to give guidelines to avoid all these problems, as some may be due to the inherent nature and type of work. We may only advise on healthy living habits, lessening tension on board - this should be told to the shore managers and operators mainly as they are the creators of most of the tensions! Continuous advice on drug/alcohol abuse should be a part of management on board - but the question is how effective can it be? This surely has many loop-holes. Hair loss does not seem to be a major health concern but it does exist and many suffer from it. The type of water used for cleaning can vary a lot; the distilled water from the ship’s fresh water generator can be one of the worst types for causing hair loss. People such as engineers who work with various oils/chemicals are very much prone to this problem, due to frequent contact with these substances. You can often hear some of the crew complaining that wearing helmets for long periods and especially in high temperatures can lead to hair loss; this can be a deterring reason for following safety measures. Apart from abiding by the hygiene standards, we must be careful about the water supply and use the approved additives in the water made by the fresh water generators; also get the proper type of safety helmets with ventilation holes and non-irritating materials. We may then be able to help to reduce this problem. After all that is said in the above paragraphs, we may be able to deduce that illnesses on board a ship are limited to a few, and if one knows their causes plus probable treatments, it can be possible to help most and avoid drastic situations. NB. The diseases as categorized under STDs∗ and kidney problems are appropriately addressed in the Ship Captain’s Medical Guide; therefore they are not talked about in this essay, as it would have seemed commenting with little knowledge upon matters that require professional medical background is surely not the aim of this booklet. Finally, some general remarks/guidelines about administering medicines: ∗ STD: Sexually Transmitted Disease

14

- Try to avoid giving medicines too often; this will prevent the act from becoming a habit and also

will lessen the possible side effects which the medications may give. - Some crew like to ask for medicines frequently and at times even naming them; following the

procedures laid down by the World Health Organization may help in these cases and, if necessary, we can give them some harmless medicines such as vitamins just to meet the persisting expectations.

- Most of the personnel would be satisfied by seeing your attention attracted, this will help them

morally a lot; some may like to get a bag of medications just to know that you care. To supply these, we must be very careful, and voluminous prescriptions, if at all admissible, may only be accomplished after consultation with a doctor.

- Start administering medicines with small doses and mild types and then on later stages if

necessary stronger ones can be given. For instance for a headache, if the person has no problem with his/her stomach, give him/her only Aspirin, then if not okay after some time a stronger analgesic can be administered. It is bad practice to start with heavier doses like Paracetamol, codeine or Ibuprofen. Most ailments, if dealt with at an early stage, can be easily treated. Jumping to strong medications that may give disastrous results or side effects, should be avoided.

- Always read the attached instructions before giving them - not in front of the patient, as this may

give distrusting effects! Ask for the patient’s medical history and if some trouble may arise as per the instructions contained along with the medicine, be careful to administer, and consult professional help

- For women and children (spouses on board) be more cautious. They can be advised to go to a

doctor prior to joining and get the medications for general/probable troubles. - At times people may only want something to be given to them and are mainly having problems in

the mind. They complain from baseless diseases and pains in a lot of places and moving here and there, sleeplessness and general fatigue etc. For these, a harmless vitamin or the same type of medicine can be given with a strict instruction that it should be taken with a glass of water or not to sleep after the pill for two hours etc. This can give very good results and cause the patient to calm down later. You may get him/her to sleep and relax without giving any tranquilizer or sedative of any sort - which is what the person was actually after.

As as last remark, if in doubt, seek professional help and do not act as a doctor, as you are not one; the attitude of crossing the limits can be detrimentally catastrophic and is definitely against the principles of responsible management.

15

IV. Seafarers’ mental conditions Summary The knowledge about the mental problems of seafarers is very important both for mariners and senior staff as well as the logistics and management companies. An overall look towards this aspect of human mind and derived behaviour along with associated problems can help to run a vessel in a better/safer way thus resulting in higher efficiency in respective areas. Although many of us have encountered and dealt with most of the following matters, a fresh and realistic way of analyzing them may be useful. There are various stages, at which we can consider the mental conditions of seafarers; the forthcoming points can be a typical approach. There may be a tendency here to attribute the troubles to male seafarers; this might be true in many instances due to the fact that majority of the sea-going people are men. But the writer does not really intend to exclude female mariners and a lot of the topics that are discussed are human element related matters and can be seen to be applicable to both sexes. Prior to joining a ship Before a seafarer joins on board, he/she may experience quite different and various conditions. As it can be very difficult to consider so many possibilities, we shall try to adhere to a few, which may be taken as dominant types. If it is the first time that a person joins a ship, the mental condition is totally different and is surely mixed with a lot of hazy/untrue or wrong assumptions. Although there will be a lot of strange things awaiting an absolute beginner, what is said hereunder would not necessarily cover those types of encounters. The purpose of these notes is mainly to consider the sea staff who join and work on board vessels on a regular basis. The leave taken after a certain amount of sea-time is spent in various stages: taking rest, doing the left-over jobs due to the home being unattended for certain periods of time, possible medical treatments and, of course, getting prepared for the next ship. There is always a bitter feeling like Incubus∗hovering on the mind of a seafarer. Time is passing by and it is getting nearer to the time of joining a ship. (The opposite is when on board where the passing of time is welcomed full-heartedly). The feeling can be compared to that of school children during the holidays (although the school cannot be as bad as a ship!) but still time-ticking is not so desired. This is nearly the same for all mariners but for those having trouble at home which requires their physical attention it is more painfully felt; how they can abandon those, whom they can trust or rely upon and a lot of other things stick in the mind. As the time passes by and the list of unaccomplished tasks gets longer, the anxiety grows deeper. Getting prepared to hear bad news is an extremely difficult mental task and many who are really expecting such news will pass part of their time at home being reminded automatically of such bitterness that when they are away at sea, the not-to-be mentioned incident is going to happen, where and when they cannot do anything. There is surely some time lost and unwanted effects caused by worrying about matters necessitating the preparation of home and family for a relatively long time of away, which would somehow worsen the state of mind. In various studies of human behaviour it is proven that anxiety will delay the normal routine and functionality and therefore can be quite disturbing for the mind - although a little bit of it may be good for keeping up the level of vigilance. How these are going to affect the individual’s mind are quite versatile and are surely dependent on characters as well as many other psychoanalytical factors.(13)

∗ Incubus: nightmare, a demonic presence

16

The amount of paperwork and the level of bureaucracy are also very important at this stage. In some situations to get a new passport or the necessary documents to board a ship can be very tiring and consequently cause an adverse effect on the minds of seafarers. It is essential to make the process of joining a vessel as easy as possible for that person so as not to add any further burdens onto his mind, and at least not to aggravate the pressures. The time at sea Joining the ship. For most seafarers this period is probably the worst due to the pressures on the mind during period of sea service. When you join a ship first of all, as a human being, you have feelings of being estranged, you cannot sleep properly for the first few days, the food or water does not suit you, and the extra noise which was not there at home is very noticeable. Depending on one’s position on board and seagoing experience, the levels of tolerance are different. One of the most disturbing matters is the attack of information on senior officers, especially the master. From many sides you will be buffeted by various true and untrue data. It is very difficult to sort it all out in the brain; you may have experience of ignoring some of it when important information is being passed on, the filtering of it is surely a headache maker. There will be chances for backbiting too; depending upon the mix of nationalities amongst the crew. If they are from places and societies where this is a habit, you will receive various allegations and claims, some of which may be intended to make a better situation/ground for the claimer’s future. Having joined a vessel with a tight commercial schedule, handover may be a few hours after which you will proceed to sea. Trying to run a vessel on which you have only been for few hours is a really difficult and stressful task. There may also be some fears experienced during the first few days after joining, eg: a fear of not knowing something, of making mistakes while manoeuvring etc. There may also be bitter and sad feelings of having left home recently: the sight of children with wet eyes, a wife with an unfathomable look, the thought of unfinished tasks, the unpaid bills, the leaking garage roof, the elderly relative with a mortal trend, and many other things which are continually on your mind. To pass the first few days of joining in a safe and sound way is like passing the dungeon of the basilisk∗, thereafter you can continue in a routine until your time onboard is over. To be able to help a person get through that period, some suggestions are given, most of which might be automatically done but it may be good to point them out: - Try to categorize the information in a form of a handover report or written short notes so that the

person joining will not be bewildered or confused; there can be an access to the quickly said things later on when there is enough time.

- Providing a clean and suitable cabin for the joiner is very important. - Contacting the family during the first hours of arrival via phone and hearing the loved ones, can

soothe the missing hearts at both ends.

∗ Basilisk: a mythical giant serpent (snake) which is said to have lethal breathe and looks (passing a difficult time, era or task)

17

- Try to receive the person nicely, especially if of a nationality already feeling alienated, you can help him a lot if he feels welcome on board.

- If possible give the new joiner some rest at the beginning, the noise from the airplane and the

dust of travelling can be a burden on the person and make him tired. The main period of sea-time This is an area of major concern when thinking about the stresses associated with the lives of seafarers. Some of the topics are discussed here: i. Loneliness The fact is that all mariners are living in exile. They are not only away from home and family but also far from any civilization or human contact. On ships with slow speed, crossing an ocean may take many days during which time the only people a seafarer has contact with are his shipmates. It is a difficult task to have only a few people to talk to or see. Even those who are not very sociable persons would suffer from the effects. When a person is living ashore, in different conditions, there may not be so many people he/she meets or has contact with but only walking in a shopping mall or street will give the feeling of being alive in a society. Such things are not existent on board ship, and because of the nature of shipboard life one is somehow forced to live like an excommunicated misanthrope∗. To communicate, one should use a language as primary means and also have some common area to talk about. The different nationalities may not understand each other’s language and may not as well be good at a common language. It is not necessary to know English very well for doing the job; a few hundred words plus series of standard phrases can be enough for an officer or a rating to do the job, but these are not probably enough to communicate socially. It has been observed that any person when in pain or under the influence of some sort of strong emotion likes to talk, complain or even swear in the mother tongue - although this depends on the intelligence and educational level of the individual. This is not always possible on board a ship, thus it can lead to feeling lonesome and depressed. The shore staff may talk to each other but still they can feel lonely. However, there are certain things that crewmembers would talk about between themselves, albeit these are quite limited. When the ship is on a long sea passage, the stories and the common discussion topics can dry up. Unwanted thoughts start when crewmembers seek seclusion and hide in their cabins as there may be no reason to stay in the public areas or saloons. Playing movies or organizing games can help to delay this attitude but it is bound to happen and the various personalities can show different symptoms. The attack of old/discarded/abandoned and left over troubles usually comes at the time when people seek refuge to sequester and loneliness prevails.(14) Some of the talk in the saloons may give rise to disturbing dreams and thoughts. Mariners, in common with most other professions, are prone to story-telling and at times imaginary untrue stories. This is due to the way of life and the fact that the others find their life interesting. But when the real stories end, one would start by telling other people’s stories and consequently ending up to imaginations and fascinating or heroic tales. Ashore this is partly fun and, depending on the individual’s character, can be various and versatile. At sea when family stories about sudden deaths or affairs in absence come up, this can lead to a vulnerably lonely and suspicious person, and to a lot of unwanted and obnoxious thoughts and frantic dreams. We may say “this does not happen to me” or consider ourselves stronger than that, but it is a fact that grotesque dreams and thoughts can happen to nearly everyone especially when living under stress. ∗ Misanthrope: one who does not like people or society and prefers to live in seclusion

18

The human mind can suffer from quite strange and unpredictable functions. For people in exile, the mind plays various tricks, such that one can witness a perfectly sane person acting totally unbelievably and in an insane manner. There is an Eastern proverb that says: ‘To know someone you should travel with him.’ That may be because in the old days, the journey was so long and tedious that during a voyage you could see the person’s different faces at different occasions, and it was impossible to hide the grey or black side of the character. For seafarers this is very much true. At sea is it possible to witness both the good and the dark sides of someone’s character. Those who may be acting strangely will not believe themselves when the crisis is over.(15) There are a number of things that can be done to avoid this, eg: try to keep the staff in company of one another; do not let individuals make fun of others or attack a weaker or different member of the crew. Organizing barbeques and eating festivities can help greatly. When listening to the crew, let them complain and confide in you, at times they may tell you a lot of private stories. Try not to comment and avoid publicizing the matter. The case can create anger once the sort of trance in which the privacy is disclosed, is over. ii. Physical problems Rough seas can cause sleeplessness and fatigue; consequently this will make the personnel easily irritable and tetchy. You can see fights developing and there may be a hostile atmosphere. Workload is also a factor, although at times it helps to keep people busy. But, too much of it especially under stressful conditions can aggravate the mental condition. The physical/health status can play an important role. When someone is sick or has any type of illness, this can also give rise to an unwanted mental burden. Sick crew should be attended with care and caution and they given moral support as well; seemingly the stresses on the mind are the root cause and origin of many problems and if taken care of adequately, can even eliminate the physical symptoms. Food intake - type, amount, spices used, frequency and categories - can be a factor to cause the physical problems and subsequent effects on the minds of seafarers. It is a proven fact that many mental ailments have physical origins and can be attributed to imbalance of some chemical elements in a body; here again, if the personnel have an appropriate medical file ashore and are chosen with due regard to the history of medical backgrounds, we may be able to avoid some of the mentioned mental problems at sea. Water memory: There is a strong belief amongst Homoeopathists∗ that water has a memory which will be acquired through dilution & undergoing the numerous changes.(16)If we consider the ship’s potable water tanks and imagine the possibility that during the ship’s lifetime, the chemical additions may have been present inside - despite many cleanings and by strict abidance to health and hygiene regulations - the water might have got a barely noticeable toxic or chemical memory. This of-course can be the case anywhere but it can be accountable as water can specifically attain this and is a vital consumable on board which is being continuously replaced with so many various and diverse types of replenishments. The effects of the so called memory if at all existent are not really possible to detect but can be quoted as one of the factors (even minor and immeasurable) affecting the seafarers’ physical and eventually mental condition.

∗ Homoeopathy : is a type of treatment for diseases by administering very small doses of medications or drugs

19

Those who smoke or drink a lot are liable to depression and the series of mental troubles talked about in the aforementioned paragraphs can be worsened by effects of excessive smoking, drinking and possible drug abuse. Hence, having an appropriate food programme on board, maintaining healthy habits, and complying as much as possible with the hygiene standards, may give the required vitamins thus helping to have the physical and chemical balance in the body, and reducing the influences caused on the mental condition. iii. Sexual problems It is a fact that sex-life is an important factor affecting the mental condition of a person. If we go further in detail, some psychologists consider a wide range of effects and take it in a rather basic way as a fundamental reason for many things. But if one takes it very justly as nearly all would agree, mariners are surely sufferers of sex deprivation and consequently can be under a lot of stresses. If some spouses of officers are carried on board, it may ease the matter for them but for the rest it is very difficult to comment. A human naturally likes to have contact with the opposite sex. This can be in many forms, depending on the cultural background, nationality, and other elements. In some societies with lots of taboos, any contact may be construed as sexual but in others the attributions may vary drastically or be quite realistically approached. For most people, even a simple casual life where there are the opposite sexes present, is considered normal and within tolerable limits. On board a ship, in the majority of situations crewmembers will be under tension due to this deprivation, although it may not be stated so clearly due to cultural barriers etc but this is usually not very difficult to detect. It is a fact that one would be very much relaxed and relieved of the tension after the desirable contact with the opposite sex. But for mariners, this may not be possible due to the nature of the profession and being away from family or any ordinary society for long periods of time. There is hardly any solution for this; some of the officers bringing family along may be helped, but it can also create an atmosphere of discrimination and jealousy or unsolicited conduct among other shipmates. Perhaps by shortening voyage lengths or allowing more frequent but shorter leaves, this problem could be lessened. Infidelity∗ in a family and true/untrue imaginations about the waywardness∗∗of a partner and possible tangibility(17)may partially be reduced or avoided by numerous calls and being at home as often as possible. iv. Working in shifts and sleeplessness Watchkeepers on board are always susceptible to sleep disorders which will be a contributing factor for mental pressure. Insomnia is one of the problems which seriously affects the physical status and the ability to concentrate.(18)It also awakens the bugging memories and drives a person with some probable shadows in the past into unwanted dreams and a series of distractions. That will further aggravate sleeplessness, leading to restlessness, lack of concentration, numerous errors at work and possible mental detriments. The inability to properly eat and get the required nutrition due to the nature of the work of watchkeepers may also cause the effects of fatigue. The time before signing off from the ship can also be stressful; the preparation for signing off has its own pressures:

∗ Infidelity: unfaithfulness, disloyalty ∗∗ Waywardness: defiance, disobedience, wilfulness

20

Leaving the ship The time not passing as fast as it should do, news that the joiner is not coming, the troubles waiting to be attended to at home, and physical as well as mental tiredness all add to the stresses. The mariner usually passes through this stage with little difficulty as the thought of getting back home to the loved ones will surely ease the situation. On certain occasions when the person has been mentally worn out, some help should be given to coax him/her to be able to continue up to the time that the reliever arrives. The seafarer’s safe working practices should also be observed if signs of absent-mindedness are noticed; if sometimes he seems to be very tired and just passing the time to finish off and go home, the important/risky jobs should not be given to him as far as possible or, on occasions, allocating an extra hand to the task may ensure greater vigilance. It is a fact that many people tend to get slack when they think their time is up and they are about to leave. On the other hand, when a person believes that his/her services are over, there is a tendency to relax and act less carefully. For a manager in any system especially on board a ship, this surely needs to be borne in mind in order to foresee and have due consideration for such problems Time in port With today’s very fast port operations, there is really very little time spent in port. Some of the stresses and mental problems which have been accumulated at sea need to be released through relaxation in harbour, but with present operations, there is hardly any time for this. It will be astonishing to see how much of a difference it can make for a person who has spent weeks at sea, to step ashore and have few hours on stable non-rolling ground. This can initially be attributed to the fact that human being is originally not a marine creature and has difficulties living at sea even in dry surroundings. When the eyes see nothing but the sea all around, this may seem relaxing at the first glance but will not look so if it is continued for a long period of time. The need to release the stresses and pressures in any possible way ashore is a vital requirement for all who work and live on board ships. In spite of all, for someone to go to a sex market may be considered obscene and not religiously, morally or socially approved of. But we should also be more realistic and practical by understanding that not every human being has the same level of necessities and for many people - amongst them the seafarers - this need can be very important regardless of many variant attitudes and dealings with it. It is not the purpose of this paper to comment on or evaluate some attitudes, but only to consider the facts existent. A person who has lived in some sort of captivity, needs to go out into society and walk amongst people ,eat with them or maybe do nothing but just be there. In the old days, it used to be a practice to encourage shipmates to spend some time ashore as this was considered a vital part of maintaining the mental stamina,∗but in present conditions even if one wants to do it, there is hardly enough chance. As an experiment it can be observed that those who go out very seldom are liable to early fatigue and are very much prone to mental and stressful disorders. This is a fact that many experienced seafarers would agree upon. When arriving in port after a long spell at sea, the potential for a lack of contact with people out side of the ship environment could make the seafarer particularly vulnerable to excessive and unreasonable

∗ Stamina: power, energy, endurance

21

turmoil. This could later be a ground for mixed emotions. Falling abruptly in love can happen; spending a lot of money on cheap goods can also be another problem. It would be interesting if a seafarer were to calculate how much money he/she has lost while exchanging one currency to another; or to count the left over coins or banknotes that have no use or value in the other parts of the world - this can astonishingly be a considerable amount. If you have some crew members with sentimental feelings or backgrounds of more frequent déjà vu∗ experiences or nostalgic memories,(19) they will feel more lost when departing from a port. This would happen if the stay is long; but, nearly everyone gets that sour feeling of goodbye, partly because of knowing that the period of being away from the civilization is about to begin again. Seafarers are a category of people easily cheated; this happens often to them, so shall be the likelihood of bitter feelings associated with the port stay. In unsafe ports there are high possibilities of being robbed or getting into various and unknown dangers. As the stay in a port is usually short and the needs are too many, one would take the first chance for buying or getting something, as a result of which the probability of encountering smart people who want to take the highest advantage from you grows high. The seamen’s clubs may be able to help with the movement around the port or in dealing with the primeval needs and deeds of the mariners - but they may not be so effective at times. Nobody can deny the great help and role of the seamen’s clubs but on many occasions, the nature of the clubs is such that the seafarer may feel patronized, thus causing an irksome feeling. Many of the seamen may be very important persons at home with a lot of respectability but in this situation, being cared for in a way that the poor, the homeless and the orphans would be, surely is not so good. There may be even more deterring facts, like they treat you the same as mental cases with too much of false likeability and forced smiles, which in no way can be taken seriously. However, all seafarers approve of the seaman clubs run by non-governmental organizations as merits in the industry and are a great help in the way of sea-life. In many ports, they are the only links to the outside world and a relaxation place for the seamen; one should always accredit them for many good aspects. There is also another undeniable fact that at many ports the mariners would not be liked much. This may be because of some backgrounds of belief and culture which have been made through centuries of contact with the seafarers and having had some bad experiences. As seafarers are the ‘rolling stones’∗∗and their stay is very short, making many friends may be difficult, then due to the deprivation of numerous rights or simple requirements, they are seemingly in urgent need of many things and cannot waste much time. In a normal relationship which has taken the appropriate time to build up, certain requests from an acquaintance are acceptable and easily welcome. But for the seafarer, when time is so short, there should either be no relationship made or the pace has to be very fast. This behaviour will be taken wrongly and is usually called “an opportunist’s way”. No-one expects this to be accepted or admitted, and then it is obvious that the whole thing will be construed as impolite and totally dislikeable. Imagine when a person sees that people are driven off as soon as they know you are a seafarer, how annoying and awful this can be. Although some of the incidents may have true origins and causes, this difficult process is rarely understood or differentiated, therefore it is impossible to expect the shore people to perceive it. ∗ Déjà vu: a feeling of having already experienced or seen something before ∗∗ A rolling stone gathers no moss: a proverb stating that people who travel very often, can hardly make very good or close friends

22

In addition to all above, the requirements imposed by the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS) have greatly impaired the movement of seafarers in and out of ships; this has surely had a detrimental impact on the seafarers’ mental conditions but we can hardly do anything about it but complain! Here follow some topics which may be worth considering: Expendability. This may seem a bit pessimistic but it is a fact that every human being sooner or later will feel expendable;∗that is, to grasp that he/she is no longer required. Every person has a status in life.(20)It is amazing how a person can act when in different situations or statuses. For example: Take a lady within the reasonable social limits. She can be a sweet friend, a nice wife, a careless mother, a shabby housekeeper, a neutral sister-in-law or even a bothering mother-in–law, and many other combinations of these all at the same time. There can be a thousand possibilities with various values with regard to this, but it is very important that, first of all a person should have a status and secondly the status should be likeable and wished for; thirdly it must be continued and if changed, to remain accountable and acceptable and never get discarded or disused. For seafarers, after so many years at sea, their family or the relatives would somehow forget feeling their absence and learn to cope without. This at first may be desirable as they can survive without your existence, but later on when you are not counted and all the plans are drawn up without you, this is a terrible feeling. People living ashore also get this problem, as mentioned earlier, sometimes leading to bitterness. The usage of a person may very often ‘expire’ and perhaps this is one of the contributing factors in human troubles. That may be why everyone tries to change and improve their status or somehow up-grade, or at least make some move, partly in order to avoid stagnancy and consequent expiry. For seafarers, it happens earlier and is nearly always destined so. After a few years, you change into a money-making machine; you are there, but most of the time you are not present; you carry out some of your duties physically, but most of the time the pay-cheques do the job. This can really cause painful burdens on the mind. There is a saying ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’. It is there for some people but mostly it is a case of ‘out of sight, is out of mind’. A friend who is not there at parties, death memorials, marriages or most other gatherings, will be forgotten and will not be called upon even when he/she is rarely present. This occurs with the seafarer even in a family on a different scale. The seafarer remembers the question from relatives: ‘When will you return to sea?’ This might not have a negative feedback and may only be a simple question or in the fairer way to know how much more they can see you, but in reality it surely has a bad effect on morale and a lot of disliking and ill feelings may hatch. The mere non-existence at required times has an undeniably detrimental effect on seafarers and if the person is a bit more unfortunate by being nagged at or forgotten, this can be unbearably terrible and bothering. The matter of not being updated about the news and incidents, especially when a seafarer signs off a ship, makes the person particularly apt for seeking seclusion and not expressing ideas. Consequently, expendability will take over.

∗ Expendable: that may be dispensed with or omitted, unimportant, insignificant, not regarded as worthy

23

This trouble may be helped by the family and friends first of all to know and acknowledge this fact in an unnoticeable and non-manifested way, then to put the person in the picture of recent events and count him/her in making decisions and gatherings while having due consideration for the aforementioned points, especially their hard job and the associated efforts required to remain a seafarer and live in that way. Adapting and associated side effects. Due to the nature of their profession, seafarers have to adapt themselves to the prevailing circumstances. Although this ability and becoming habit may be considered as an asset for them it may also present some long-term side effects. The amount of energy required to adapt oneself to various atmospheric or work conditions will be so much that after years in service, one’s tolerance levels come down, and the procedure with which the adaptation would be taking place may be ineffective and, more frequently, forgotten or overlooked. Taking a simple comparison, those working in fixed jobs very rarely change the place or the atmosphere of work. Inherently most people reject changes at the beginning but for seafarers this happens once or twice a year. When changing ships, they have to try to find ways of coping with different systems and personnel. . Frequent adaptation may also lead at times to habitual behaviours which can become easy or even careless as the time passes - this may also have its drawbacks. For people doing very skilled and special tasks, the way with which they would follow procedures may become too recurrent and tend to a want of relaxation, consequently dropping the minor details. This can also lead to an increase in overlooking and of dangerous occurrences. The making of a relationship with other people is not an easy task; we all make better friends when in childhood, due to that character’s simplicity and transparency. Once a person knows the obligation of working with a group of ‘strangers’, he/she should start to find common grounds for relations; this is a mind tiring and energy taking matter and as done oftentimes, will have its problems. In cases where a real common ground is not found, the seafarer should somehow be satisfied with what is available, and this happens on many occasions. For others not at sea, this is hardly noticed or at least it is does not have such an adverse effect. One solution is to send staff on nearly the same type of ship or route with the same mix of crew - if at all possible within the constraints and limitations within the company - but still the adaptability troubles and energy wearing are there and will have to be burdened. A lack of promotion prospects can also be a reason for some to feel less useful; after a few years, there will be signs of laziness, lack of attention and taking the job easier. The root cause of this could be through a lack of change in status, with a risk of boredom taking over. There is not much that can be done here, other than to offer moral support, create new goals or allot other activities on board. Having mentioned some of the factors and areas of concern by way of analyzing the subject, it may now be the time to attempt to see how the seafarer’s mind can become problematic, thus try to finalize these notes. After a seafarer joins a ship, he/she will undergo a lot of stresses by new things encountered, the obligation to adapt carried over troubles from home and the bombardment of information. And, if the position is in management ranks, the high level of responsibility and the expectations derived from that. Then the sea-time (actually considered the smoothest period by most seafarers!) and feeling lonely, deprived, overworked, under-paid - and forgotten.

24

Amazingly the mind works in strange ways, a perfectly sensible person starts having woeful∗dreams. The fears of helplessness and even the darkness are experienced very often at sea. The long buried grievances come back. The food becomes miserable and the talks with shipmates finish up with the jokes and stories looking absurd. The memories of naggings by relatives and the missing of children poke onto nerves. The sea plays the rough ride. The managers give impossible and magniloquent∗∗instructions. The ship’s atmosphere gets heavy. You hardly can have any rest; there are too many things on your mind with very few perceivable solutions. Then you arrive in port, and the pilot telling you how he misses the sea but he is happy as he is sleeping at home, the sturdy∗∗∗immigration officers, and the stevedores trying to terminate the job in the peak of an abyssal∗∗∗∗dark night; an evening outside, a bag of edibles and snacks, an undisturbed call to the loved ones at home, a sigh in the candle-fume-smelling seamen’s club. The deserted moonlit roads, the shadows of trees on the houses, the fog, the home gatherings of families seen through the moistly lit windows, the smell of home cooked food. The port area, loud noise, the truck fumes, the shoes smudged, the gangway clink. Back to the ship, the night sailing, the new instructions, the narrow channel, the shouting pilot and the sea. Sailing to the next port and the loop again.(21) Back to the nightmares, deprivations and attacks of rejected thoughts plus the normal prevailing circumstances as the nature of work contains. Not to forget, this may have happened to you many times before, so the mind forefaces the nostalgia, the bitter feelings and the irksome thoughts. The human mind and functions can at times be compared to equipment and the instability in inevitable mishaps. It is said that in married life some of the abrasions cannot be avoided, as if they are someway/somehow bound to happen. This can be attributed to the unpredictability in human behaviour patterns such that, at times, to try to rectify a misunderstanding which may worsen the situation, a further trial will deepen the valley into such an extent that a breakdown is unavoidable. In respect to all that has been said earlier, the seafarer’s mind can be driven into such corners, or at least be affected by the awful and undesired consequences. Apart from the few remedies mentioned in parts of this chapter; the following points can be reiterated:

- Try to have shorter sea-periods as the time passes and you become an all time seafarer. - The treatment on board should be based on discipline, courtesy and fairness.

- The personnel should be kept in each other’s company, only eating in saloons; crawling to

one’s cabin must be discouraged.

- Use of good television antenna and news reception facilities will help the staff to come out of solitude and feel alive, being in the picture and the trend of recent happenings.

- Encourage contact with family and loved ones; hearing their voice works miraculously.

- During rough sea periods, overworked days and for those successively on watch keeping

work-shifts; ease off a bit at times so the tension slackens away.

∗ Woeful: distressful, sorrowful ∗∗ Magniloquent: boastful, indulgent declaration ∗∗∗ Sturdy: robust, reckless, brawny, vigorous ∗∗∗∗ Abyssal: very deep

25

- Although for a master as a human being, all the above-mentioned problems can also be considered, the staff should not as far as possible, see him/her feared or loose-hearted as it damages their morale; this is truer in rough times.

- The background of the seafarers may be a vital part, but as the operator of ships you have

not much of a choice in their selection and only can remind the managers about the fact.

- Observe your staff as much as possible; signs of mental troubles are not always easy to detect but when in doubt, a further care and perhaps professional help may be required to avoid catastrophic consequences.

Whatever you do, some of the mental burden will be there. By having even a fairly general understanding of the causes, you may be able to run the ship and work on board in a smoother way. Perhaps by taking into consideration some of the above remarks, you may endeavour to uplift the levels and thresholds of sentimentality and vulnerability of the mariners working within the metallic entrapment, called ‘the ship’. One should not forget that the sea-carrier is one of the few types of living in which you welcome the passage of time, will be happy that days are crossed off and your life-time is being spent. Also, seafarers are thirsty for kindness, so administering some can be fantastically helpful.

26

V. Receiving people on board Summary There are various people who come on board a ship for many reasons; in order to be able to deal with them in an appropriate and smooth manner we may use a few guidelines. The following notes try to categorize the visitors and give simple patterns to receive and treat them on board a ship. There are two categories of people who come on board in port:

A. Those with no or little knowledge about a ship; some may be mere visitors out of curiosity.

B. Those who have official business to conduct - the majority of those who visit. A. When there are some people who want to come on board to see the ship or use the whereabouts like an expedition, the most important point to consider, is their safety - especially if they are school children or some are elderly and who may have difficulty in accessing the vessel. The general approach should be of a courteous and welcoming reception, probably sending one of the officers to accompany and show them around. They should not be allowed to enter restricted areas or touch any of the equipment. If they are too many, grouping them is a safe and helpful way. The seafarers, due to their life away from the family or society, usually welcome the guests especially the children, seemingly to try visualizing their own in the physically available images and somehow soothe their missing hearts. The same may be applicable for other ordinary visitors if at all the port regulations, security requirements/ limitations, etc allow it. The ISPS code and its implications have greatly restricted this type of movement but they may still exist and precautionary measures with respect to the security of the vessel should also be observed. These visiting can at times be a little irritating with some shore guys, worst of all, when some managerial ranks would use the ship as a show case and the seafarers will be treated like species floating in a ‘tour de aquaria∗, but not much can be done about it. It may be useful to state that the ship is the working and living place of the seafarers, so the least disturbance should be imposed on them. It is unfortunate to see that the visitors usually forget about this simple fact. The said trouble is mostly felt with the officials who board the ship specifically from the shore offices that have interrelations with the shipping company. They intentionally forget that you also need privacy and there are limits of entering each and every place. Imagine if the seafarers go to the offices or work places of these visitors - would they take you to their home? It would be unthinkable. So, we may tolerate some landlubbers for a few hours even crossing the limits, but we also reasonably expect the visiting people to understand that we work and live on board. And any possible means should be used to express this and somehow to make due consideration. B. This category can be subdivided and discussed in the following way: The pilots As these people with a few exceptions, are ex-mariners, they already very well know the system on board and their primary aim is to help con the vessel in and out of ports. The reception of pilots in the way as required internationally is an obligation and if we try more friendly ways, the results will surely be more favourable. Although in some ports and with a few nationalities there are bitter presumptions felt as being exercised by pilots and some of the information and observations may be used against the vessel, but

∗ Tour de aquaria: an expedition or exhibition in a marine environment, a boat or sea-side, etc

27

a very humane reception plus supplying the data needed by the pilot should always be the procedure followed. The ship-handling involving the safety of the personnel and the ship is a very important operation and when doing it in restricted waters where a pilot is involved, it will be more difficult and has to be dealt with a lot of caution. A good information exchange and reception in a hospitable manner should therefore be accomplished. Allocation of a clean and comfortable cabin plus preparation of appropriate food, if the ship’s menu might not be liked by the pilot, are quite important points. There are efforts by some of the maritime nations as it may even be already existent in other places of the world to include compulsory reports by the pilots. If such things are mandatory in the ports with strangely behaved pilots, the consequences of possible baseless reports should be thought of while dealing with the pilots, and adequate care and caution will have to be observed. It is needless to describe the troubles which might have to be encountered in an effort to prove a matter already falsely stated or instigated by a member of the port (such as a pilot) to the same port authority! Some of which might have only been originated or magnified due to inadequate or less desirable reception by the ship’s staff. Owner’s protecting agents First of all we should know that what is implied by their name is not always so, considering the area that the port is situated in and the prevailing culture, nationality, etc. There are certain defined duties for those and depending upon the company’s contractual dealings, the reactions and construing can vary drastically. What can be taken as a general guideline is that only the necessary information should be transferred with a usual cordiality. At the occasions that some local workshops or repairs and deficiencies are involved, the disseminated∗information can leak to a lot of unwanted areas. A good approach would be acquired by knowing at least the major parts of the agents’ assigned duties and the scope and coverage of their responsibilities. At times that a joint agency is appointed by more than one party, the situation of the vessel with respect to the lines and limits of beneficiary∗∗parties will actually decide the trend. This can often be quite ambiguous. What has to be said here is the fact that for most of the people who come on board with a business purpose, they should be kept within their limits and any leniency in the areas they like to have freedom, may lead to commercial damages. One should always remember that those who deal with a lot of different ships and various nationalities have already acquired some ability in treatment and mentality analysis of the seafarers. That can possibly be used to make a sort of acquaintance with the ship staff. This is not always really bad, but usually it is not intended to help a seafarer or the ship affairs but only to get a good result from the operations and then promulgate the same under the good name of the representatives and efficient agents! Although mariners, especially the master, have a good experience of dealing with people, the chances of being misused or exploited are also very high. The best advice may be not to get sentimental and only try to deal with these types of officials in a robotic, straight-forward and businesslike way; then you will not be hurt when you see your kindness is being wasted into impenetrable∗∗∗grounds.

∗ Disseminate: spread, scatter widely ∗∗ Beneficiary: a person who receives benefit (or profit in financial matters) ∗∗∗ Impenetrable: inaccessible to ideas and influence

28

Surveyors, auditors and inspectors As a primeval element of human relations, courtesy plays an important role. Everyone coming on board should receive due courtesy which can be made as a base to pass the process smoothly. It is often said that “Honesty is the best policy”. This may seldom give rise to problems but nonetheless it is advisable not to ever try deceiving the surveyors, auditors and inspectors. They are mostly expert people and the damages which may have to be encountered are grave if the facts are revealed. On the other hand if the necessary queries are responded with sufficient and reasonable replies, a favourable result can usually be achieved. Most of this category of people is ex-mariners who very well understand the limitations on board; they may also have a certain amount of leniency towards those who know the problems, admit faults and also try to do something about the shortcomings. These types of visitors on board should be accompanied by responsible staff, with sufficient knowledge about the area concerned, with all the keys to accesses at disposal and if needed some help along in order to do things that might require an extra hand.(22)If possible, offering them some sort of refreshment or even food can help the things go easier. Most people like to try new types of food or beverage and this being done nicely enhances the human relations a great deal. If we try to consider the surveyors and likewise as professional help and reminders of many things which may have skipped our minds, then receiving them will also be at a likeable level as originally felt supportive and somehow on our side. Harbour, customs and immigration officials These may be one of the most sensitive categories of people coming on board. Amongst other factors, the port area and the country in which the port is situated are quite decisive. Nearly all port officials deal with the vessels in an authoritative manner and, by virtue of the fact that they do have the power, their requirements should be satisfied as far as possible. Hence, a reasonable amount of hospitality and good reception should be exercised. It has been observed that if these people are well treated, a lot of operations will take effect quickly and favourably, so is the opposite way. Influencing factors such as the implementation of the ISPS code and the general atmosphere predominant amongst the officials, which can be under a lot of outside impressions and implications, can change the whole thing a great deal. In line of trying to make a positive relationship, one must not forget or discard the right to ask for some references to regulations or interpretations. If for instance an unfair imposition is being put on the vessel, it can be queried that under what circumstances or grounds, that is being done. What is important is to enquire with politeness and in words such that no offence shall be taken. The language barriers and misunderstandings have to be cautiously borne in mind. As a general point, it may be worth to ponder that human relations, is a vital element in running a system, so be it for a ship. If at times we put ourselves in other people’s shoes, we may have a different understanding and conception of the matter. Imagine a person who steps up on board, the steep gangway, the strange or at times rusty look of the vessel, the peculiar odour of the ambient air, the vaporized oil and associated cooking smells, then so many stairs up to the ship’s office, already with blushed face and short heavy breaths. This as whole may make a person so irritated. If he or she is unfamiliar with the ship’s or mariners’ lifestyle, the situation is more difficult - there may be a lot of presumptions and imaginations already floating in his or her mind. For women it is even worse; some may consider the ship as an amalgamation of sex-maniacs, especially if the crew members are from the less-liked parts of the world. They would take any kindness as suggestive and consequently feel provoked. For the people who are the regular visitors of the ships, some of the above points may still exist but at a lesser degree.

29

The first thing to accomplish is to try to somehow soften that primary rigidity and to let the visitor come out of bewilderment∗ or at least not to aggravate it. Then try to tolerate the order-like, bitter and discriminative manners that they usually exert, as much as possible. It is very important that the visitors either do not know or do not care about your problems; how much of sleep you have had during the last few days, if it is the eating time or not and many other things which are on your mind. So do not expect a consideration because most probably you will be disappointed. Once the primary moments of alien morals are over, the things will hopefully get smoother. Most officials think that their business is the only important one and strangely enough they do believe so in each other’s presence, hence insist on doing it first! This at times becomes so annoying but as you cannot do much about it and any objection or explanation will make things even worse, it is better to only tolerate the situation again. We should also bear in mind that in the business of the maritime world, like many other areas, the human element and restrictions as well as fair treatment of the workers, although very much talked about, are hardly are considered, so the general trend from outsiders is to do the job and run away from the scene as soon as possible having gained what the aim was for. This is mostly the case with most visitors on board. We should all remember that how much of a difference it would make to receive people nicely and as a sensible, educated and fair person how we do expect the others to treat and receive us; so, apply the same upon our visitors. This shall give good if not excellent results.

∗ Bewilderment: confusion, astonishment

30

VI. Effects of accommodation and living quarters’ conditions on seafarers Summary At sea, like any other place, the living conditions in the allocated accommodation and/or working atmosphere for a worker can have a lot of effect on the subject employee. This may be more noticeable and need extra emphasis for the seafarers as they work and live in the same place. The following notes will try to have a practical look towards the matter with due reference to human element issues. The various effects of the subject can be discussed by considering the following topics as relevant: Ventilation The ventilation inside the accommodation and engine room of a vessel is of vital importance. The existing regulations concerning the number of required air changes and temperatures as set in ILO’s various conventions(23)stipulate the minimum requirements. On the occasions that these are not fully met or only the minimum are abided by, there will be numerous troubles existing. The safety of the personnel can at times be endangered if there is not enough ventilation in confined or gas fumed spaces like engine room. In very hot or cold areas, the effectiveness of the air-conditioning system is obviously very important. In hot and humid climates, if the air conditioning is not very effective if one tries to analyze the associated problems with this sort of weather and working areas unsafe practices can be observed - even though the safety of the crew may not at first glance be considered impaired. While a person is not comfortable due to heat or humidity, he/she will be exhausted much sooner than normal; the body will also loose the physical stamina∗in a faster way and the result would not only lead to lesser efficiency and/or lack of vigilance and concentration; but also, it can be seen through patterns of irritated behaviour as well as nervous working atmospheres which at a later stage can be construed as unsafe. The above matter may be well existent in places like the engine room or on deck at most occasions but the tolerance of personnel can withstand it, if this is only for the working area and when inside the accommodation there is no proper means of air conditioning, the effects will appreciably be aggravated. Any worker may tolerate the work area temperature for many hours a day - especially when unavoidable - but he/she expects to be able to rest at off-duty hours and if this cannot be achieved, problems may arise. For cold climates, the air conditioning is just as important for a reasonably bearable temperature in the living or working quarters; but, for most mariners the heat may create worse conditions than the cold. There are also some physical problems like skin rashes, breathing difficulties, catching cold and flu etc, which can be attributed to insufficient ventilation in the living quarters. The position of the galley and the adequacy of its ventilation facilities can also be referred to in here. Good food on board can be very effective on the personnel’s moral condition and this can be maintained partly by a well equipped and well aerated galley along with good ingredients and a reasonably able cook, of-course. As already mentioned in the earlier parts of these notes, the smell of the ship in general is very much related to the efficiency of the ventilation with due regard to the food preparing habits and hygiene standards etc.

∗ Stamina: endurance or power to do something or stay under pressure

31

So, good ventilation can even change the attitude of visitors having surely had its effects on the personnel for a long time. Vibration and noise On board many of today’s ships, one can easily encounter problems related to vibration and noise. These might be because of using cheap or low grade materials or so many synthetic based equipment and attachments which are being utilized in most occasions and may be loosened easily hence leading to slight movements as the time passes. The vibration in the accommodation - which is usually much more evident at sea when the main engine is running - can make the personnel quite restless or nervous on board. Some vessels, although built recently, do have a lot of vibration at sea but usually when going higher in level in the accommodation, the more sensible it would be. On board some ships, it may be very difficult to sleep in the master’s cabin at sea. The requirements of the regulations may have been followed but still the vibrations are seemingly beyond limits. A simple sign of this can be observed when you join a ship; just have a look around and if you see many pieces of paper, wood or other things plunged in between panels or various boards, these all mean that the ship vibrates a lot at sea. If the vibrations on board lead to sleeplessness or restlessness, the consequences would end up to fatigue and mental detriments and surely the efficacy* ∗and safety will be affected. Noise in the accommodation is a thing which can never be avoided - the hissing noise of the ventilation fans and the other equipment or even machinery of the engine room is always present in the living quarters. For a seafarer, when going back home, during the first few hours or even days the household sounds very quiet as if something is missing, like the feeling any other person would have when disembarking from an airplane. That is the absence of the familiar hissing and other noise on board. The mariners usually get used to the noises which exist around them; as a matter of fact they may miss it or get alarmed when for instance the generator noise is not present. Surely having extra noise is quite abnormal and will have its side-effects like hearing difficulties or even getting sleepless and at times nervous. By having the accommodation well made and as noise/vibration-proof as possible, the personnel on board may be given more comfortable surroundings in which to live and work. The use of noise and vibration absorbent materials can be very helpful. The places like door brackets can be provided with various types of foams and the noisy places can be well protected so to have the least noise leakage into the living areas. Very soft and slow music can be played on the intercom within the common areas and mess-rooms in which the food can be served and common activities may be made in a more relaxed way. Hence some of the tension from the bothering noises can be eliminated. What has been mentioned in this part can be so true about any other working-area that is somehow industrial, involving heavy/noisy machinery etc but for the shipmates the problem is more felt as they are always there and even at nights or off-hours are not relieved of it. So, the long term effects should always be borne in mind. Statistically too, we may find a lot of mariners having hearing difficulties and nervous breakdowns which may be related to living in such conditions. Construction and the layout of the living areas Although the two earlier points as discussed are also a part of accommodation and construction of the living quarters, in this section specific attention is given to the lay-out of living areas.

∗ Efficacy: efficiency, usefulness

32

The requirements of safety and health/hygiene with respect to the type or quality of the materials used on board (paintwork, textiles, beds etc) might have passed the stringent regulations but this may not necessarily mean they are good or have a comforting effect on the morale of personnel, especially if only the minimal have been adhered to. The old ships used to have common lavatories on board and most of us remember the dislike of the personnel especially the ratings towards this matter. It can easily be compared to some rest-places that were like cheaper motels and for a shower you had to walk a few paces, then you would never feel an acceptable level of privacy. So, one may consider that a part of anyone’s comfort can be related to the adjacency of water closets and washing places. The size of cabin and its location would also be very important. In order to have a relatively reasonable level of comfort, every seafarer should have enough space to move around in the cabin. The washing places on board some new ships are so small that you can hardly make a full turn of your body inside. Also having a small table and a chair in the cabin beside the bed is very much necessary. This may seem quite obvious to have on board but one may be astonished to see the lay-out of the cabins in a way that any type of mariner from a normal sailor to a claustrophobic∗person, would feel restricted and awfully entangled because the cabin is so tiny and the items so squeezed that the freedom of movement is not felt at all. The location of the cabin is also very important; those who keep watches may be obliged to sleep during the daytime so the cabin should be away from the frequently used passageways. The personnel of the same type and area of work should be living in the same part of the ship and mixing is not usually welcome. Due to today’s economical reasons a lot of the positional preferences may not be followed and then unwanted troubles can be expected. For senior officers such as the chief officer, chief engineer and specifically the master, a lot of points should be considered. The master has a lot of visitors, he/she should manage numerous meetings on board with the staff or others from ashore; there is therefore an important requirement to have enough space as an office which can accommodate the visiting persons as well as having the needed documents at instant disposal. It is quite strange to see that some vessels either have no room allocated as the master’s office or if there is one, it is away from the master’s cabin or so small that only very few people can be hosted or received. This makes things uneasy so as to have access to the credentials and is also problematic for the comfort point of view. As much as it is necessary for a rating to live in a well ventilated, lit, quiet and private cabin with the primary needs at hand, it is also so for any officer and the master. The less experienced mariners may have a vague idea that why the master’s or senior officers’ quarters should be larger with more facilities, this can simply be answered because of their responsibilities and type of jobs and also many visitors they might have. It is unfortunate to see that recently even the basic needs are hardly adhered to. Although it can be proven right that the regulations are followed but in which bandwidth and what grade is the “question”. In older days, despite the fact that not many rules existed or were followed, the life was seemingly better. In today’s maritime world, the responsibilities have grown tougher, the jobs and paper work are too many and the living quarters are getting smaller and more robot like or space-ship-wise, forgetting the fact that the specific conditions for seafarers – due, but not limited to what said in the previous notes - make the mariner’s life a unique experience and having had so many cut-downs in the number of persons on board and so many newly introduced restricting regulations, they must be given a bit of a leeway. It may seem fun to stay for a short while in a place with bright fluorescent lights and atmosphere of glittering and blinking digital equipment like science-fiction movies, but it will surely be not much of a pleasure to live in there for a long time, undergo various industrial stresses, move up and down ∗ Claustrophobic: A person having fear of confined or restricted spaces

33

seventy steps a day to have a bite of food and see nothing but tiny cabins made out of cheap synthetic material, and tolerate various mental pressures. The shipping industry should try to consider the human elements when ordering a ship or approving of her design. But what may be done if the living quarters’ condition is not satisfactory? Practically not much except the fact that we try to make some considerations by allocations of cabins, keeping the place clean, in good hygiene and well ventilated, and try to practice a humanely respectful atmosphere on board - by these means we would at least not worsen the conditions. The aforementioned points are based on a general and overall view of the existing common human element issues on board; the writer admits that at many occasions, quite strange and unbelievable conducts can be observed from people; that may be why this area can never be thoroughly covered or claimed to have been fully and adequately understood.

34

VII. The Auditor’s Encounters Summary To conduct an audit on board a merchant ship may have its own type of associated troubles, what has come here in the following notes, are based on observations and a few experiences achieved through the process of internal audits. First of all there is the gathering of information which would be comprised of the last audit reports and the references to the previous non-conformities, if any pending etc. The type of the ship and how old she is are quite important. The plying route and the amount of port stay are the data that should surely be borne in mind. There is one point that is also an influencing factor - the command of the vessel. As per the ISO as well as ISM requirements, the management of any system under audit is one of the decisive factors in the process of audit both in its commitment as well as conception and understanding of the system. After the initial programme has been set, the travelling should be planned by booking for the required transportation means and setting for the resting place arrangements etc. For the part of any necessity for the accommodation or resting place for an auditor, one can think of two points, namely if such a thing is really needed or not, then how the place should be and or problems if the place is low standard. The necessity may be variable from one situation to another, but basically for a person who is working as an auditor it is very important to keep impartiality and have the least amount of dependence on the auditee’s extra favors; hence as far as possible the value of independency should be restored. In that line the least amount of disturbance should be imposed on the ship and her staff. If possible to have the food somewhere else and only receive the vital primaries. Staying on board overnight should also be avoided as basically seems out of line. If the audit is over, there is no justification for that and even if some more jobs have to be done or pursued, the night has to be spent as far as possible not on board the ship. In this way the auditor can also have some rest and array the findings in an easier way and surely the ship will be a bit relieved by not having the auditor all the time around. The life for a temporary guest can at times be hard too: the medium to cheap rated hotels and inns, the old rotten food, the crinkled bed-sheets, the stinking bathrooms, the stench of stagnant water-closets, the stained sofas, the noisy old television set and the dark lonely nights, the molded towels and the dirtily smudgy cleaned room. The inns and so called hotels are usually situated close to or in the port areas and occasionally outside but still in a remote and mainly industrial or uncivilized whereabouts. It may not be very seldom to come across the poor stray dogs or port rats and obnoxiously filthy cockroaches. The fume busted roads and noisy trucks with containers at rumbles. An auditor going on board a ship encounters various reactions form the personnel in general and the master in particular. Every ship has its own smell and reacting atmosphere, the air inside, the time of day or night and a lot of other factors like the type of vessel, the cargo...For an auditor there are many occasions that these may be found bothering and of course adaptation for at least the short period on board is necessary. The various attitudes are the most important here. They may have to do a lot with various nationalities and cultural back-grounds etc. On many occasions where the purpose of the audit is not very well understood, the auditor would be mistaken with an “inspector” or somehow the “detector of the faults”, consequently nobody is expected to welcome this and the attitudes are quite deterring. Once you step up the gangway, the atmosphere tells you a bit of how the auditing is going to be. Some masters do not take the process in a serious way and believe that the whole matter is a series of paperwork. They would complain of too many forms or files and the impracticality of some of them. Some others want to do it as fast as possible. They see the whole thing as a time consuming burden and just “another trouble” so “let’s get rid of it asap”!

35

There are also those who take the non-conformities as personal as if their faults are highlighted or revealed, consequently showing bitter attitudes. At first they may show respect to or acceptance of the findings but most probably the closing meeting shall pose lack of comprehension or problems. For some other masters the NCRs may not mean much, they just receive and file them. However, there are those who take the audit and the resulting findings as areas for improvement and accept the process in the way that the code requires. All these reactions are basically interconnected with the condition of the ship, the life and environment on board as well as the company policies and the commitment from the shore departments. We may even consider these primary perceptions as a part of our findings as an auditor. For most situations, one would be astonished at how the attitudes change after the audit; many of the ship staff do not want to talk to the auditor after the time that the process is ended. Imagine how you should take this fact that up to only a few minutes ago you were replied and responded quite satisfyingly and just now the people do not want to even see you. This of course is not the case always and you will encounter other instances as well but the afore-mentioned matters may be considered as the problematic areas. To be able to help the smoothness of the process and conduct a relatively good audit, along with the general recommendations/instructions issued through the international and reputable guidelines, the following may be worth mentioning: - Try to remain non-judgmental, fair, neutral and detached from the deterring attitudes, only this

way you may keep the independence and open-mindedness.

- During the opening meeting, give a short presentation about the process and try to reiterate that you are not a fault-finder and the mere purpose is to identify the areas for improvement, not to issue non-conformities.

- Try to remain non-reactive to bitter manners and emit smiling gesticulations even when you know

that you are not liked very much. - An attitude of helpfulness works miraculously; during the process of the audit, you can explain the

bits and pieces to the different staff, so the ice of rigidity melts such that people feel friendly and fell that they are not being inspected or investigated.

- If the manager of the system under audit does not accept the findings willingly, it may be a good

idea to revise the wordings or try to reach a compromise; otherwise the utmost goal of improvement cannot be achieved.

- Try to stick to the time-sheet and the planned programme as far as possible. - Listen to the complaints and at times the unrelated talks - if time permits - you may even identify

some quotable points in them. - When issuing NCRs, the way to close them should also be explained and discussed. - Remember that you are assisting the auditee in achieving the goals by this process, so remain

helpful and intimate at all times.

36

VIII. A master's solitude Summary I strongly believe that a Master mariner is a lonely person nowadays as many mariners maybe but he is the most secluded on board if we consider various aspects. I have a few points for explaining that it is so. Cultural differences On board a vessel which is run by multinational crew, it is oftentimes the case that master is either an entirely different nationality or one of them existent on board. This will surely create a barrier apart from the language and communicational problems. The fact that even for different nationalities who have close cultures like Europeans for instance, it may not be very difficult to make relatively good connections but for others with same language spoken, due to huge difference in culture and lifestyles, any kind of relation may seem quite difficult. If for the above reason and the position of the master, there are very little ground to make contacts with others apart from the work orders and the operations, there would be no wonder. For some people due to their type of language, a simple matter may take hours to talk about. For others this may seem absurd and offending. Mariners were known as story-tellers, some of whom would go into fantasies and exaggerated talks of fiction. This may still be true in some groups of seamen but most probably the captain cannot mix into these, especially if some parts of the stories are about difficult to very difficult masters who encountered the bravery of the story-teller. Position of authority The master on board a vessel being the person in charge or the big boss, is not expected to be liked very much or at least by most. He should issue orders and seek results from the operations, investigate into malfunctions and at times take up reprimands or punitive actions; these will make him somehow a disliked or less liked person. If we have a mixed nationality crew, the trouble can be accentuated. Many of crew from various backgrounds would like to construe or attribute the master's severity or implication of discipline to the colour of their skin or nationality etc. On the other hand there is an undeniable fact that at sea like any other job, one has to be very careful while mixing with subordinates or lower rank workers. The idea of calling people with their first name or even worse with nicknames, having free time spent together then working also in the same system may not really work. The misunderstanding that the boss is our friend now and we may take advantage is bitterly there, and we cannot deny it. As a result we should consider levels of seclusion for different positions on board, and for the master a more severe version of it. This may at times be inevitable. To keep the so called chain of command, we need to lessen contacts with others even if we do not like it, but as we may guess the grave consequences like break in discipline, we have to take the preventive action. This is oftentimes the case on board the multinational crewed vessels. Work patterns and pressures thereof As the time goes by, the work-load of the master along with the other staff is increased and with the introduction of newer (lesser) manning scales, there is very little time left to be able to get out of loneliness. This may not be physical; the master may have to do a lot of things with other personnel like getting information, issuing orders etc, but in fact he is really alone and a good instance of all work and no play, he becomes a dull guy. If we see the master has no time and the various things made him so busy, it does not mean that he is okay, he would most probably feel terribly lonely inside as for a human being the social contact is very vital. It would be a gross mistake if a master thinks that his non-work-related comments are most welcome. This is not the case mostly. It is his position which would render his comment or entity tolerable by

37

others. On board a ship with some difficulties the fact shall be very obvious. It can be very easy to know the truth that once the master has handed over the command, he will be treated like a de-crowned king; even the stewards bitterly offer him food. This is a bitter fact, not always, but mostly so. Most ship personnel take the master as the sole responsible person for the company's matters and disliked attitudes as well as things out of his control like weather changes. If there is any salary delay, punitive actions, lack of social services, dirty cargoes, approaching typhoon or even if the cook makes a tasteless dinner, that all is captain's fault and automatically this will be included and talked about in any gatherings or any other contact apart from the purely rigid job-orders. The personnel are very much right as it was the case with the same master when he was a junior officer - it is not the person who is the point to blame, it is the position and rank. This again can lead to the master's seclusion. There is another valid point that the competency level amongst the present-time seafarers is diminishing day by day; this would require more attention from the master, and consequently tensions arise from the extra pressure. A master these days would prefer to have a guy who knows his job relatively well rather than becoming a friend and being able to socialize with. Calling ports conditions In many ship trades today, the ports are in the farthest places to any society, requiring miles to drive and if at all the authorities allow you out, it may hardly be possible for the master, as he should be present when the quarantine officer, port state control inspector, security officer and so many others would come on board - otherwise his ship may get into so many problems. A vigilant master would never bargain a few hours of haste and anxiety in the centre of a cosmopolitan port city to the detention of his vessel and the growls of the owner following by. We may say that even in the port, the master is very lonely and the people come to him to do their business and at last he would be confined to the ship's whereabouts. ISPS restrictions are also a worsening factor in this respect. In the olden times, the master was usually the owner or a person from a different sect or group of people and the others were on the boat to serve and satisfy his demands; the matter of being alone or not, would surely exist or might not have been as important as today. In the past twenty years the shipping business and activities related to it have changed drastically and one can say we have a problem now. Fifteen or twenty years ago, the port stays were quite longer, the number of people on board were 1.5 times now and - dreadfully true - more competent (at least mostly), the atmosphere on board was quite friendly and crew had time for each other. But now the manning is short, quickly graduated, life and works matter in milliseconds, ports operate with pre-planned schedules for the next year and so many thorns in our sides for faster and faster operations. The owners may cut the manning scales to a bare minimum and bring down the related expenses, but the consequences of mistakes through fatigue or mental disturbances, one of which being loneliness caused by all elements described above, may be much more considerable. We should bear in mind that the master is the most responsible, questionable and answerable - and all arrows are pointing in his direction. He should not be left alone to deal with all these troubles. The company must give him the logistics support and manpower to run the ship safely. Last but not the least we must not forget that the master is also human and needs the vitalities as all others do.

38

IX. ISM: believe it or not Summary Nearly a decade has passed since the implementation of ISM code and so it may be a high time we asked ourselves the question as to whether it has reached the designated goals. The ultimate aim of a Safety Management System is to enhance safety and for ISM to protect the environment. The protection of property may not have always been addressed so intent and closely, but there may be reasons for that. To protect the property or let's say the financial assets, one does not really need to emphasize or make rules. This item is the ultimate goal of any enterprise, hence would be thought of and taken care of in a matter of fact and inherent way. What would need lots of encouragement is the safety and protection of the environment which can be considered the main concerns of the Code. If we go back to ten years ago and revise what we used to do before ISM and what we are doing now, in many areas they seem to be quite the same; only that ISM has regulated and somehow unified the systems adapted. If we look at the number of accidents and incidents, they do not really show a decline, at least a considerable trend downwards. It is very unfortunate to see that in the areas of catastrophic accidents, there is a bit of an increase. Let us try to analyze it in an overall way and get hold of some of the identifiable root causes. Fast pace industry and new problems The world of shipping has changed drastically during the last decade and so has grown the problems with it. The traffic density in the shipping routes has doubled at times. The port times have been diminished to a minimum and as it looks everything has become faster and hastier. Although the equipments have also improved a lot, we may consider the number of risks higher and the grounds for errors, mishaps, malfunctions and breakdowns clearer. We would need to come back to the breakdowns again. Human resources and associated problems Considering all the changes in the industry, the human element part does not seem to have been coping. On the other hand, the number of competent seamen is decreasing and there are occasions that a very hi-tech ship is manned by not so very qualified personnel, merely because they may be the best available in the market. The not-so-wise approach of the ship managers to reduce the number of people on board actually worsens this problem. If you do not have a reasonable crew of competent people on board, why on earth you need to reduce them? This way the risks of mistakes and negligence due to fatigue and a thousand other criteria will be growing into dangerous quarters. Training is also getting so brief and unorthodox these days; that is also because the mangers want the staff quickly and the staff want it cheaply. The combination will be a notch of every subject but so consolidated that there are various certificates issued but the depth is so little that it resembles an ocean with a depth of few inches wherein no ship can ever navigate! New rules, equipments and designs Having fast pace business and lots of traffic affront, the crew hurried to certificates of competency; what can be the finishing touch to make the situation more out of control? New rules and codes, new designs and going towards lesser people on board and more automation. If we compare the era twenty years ago, we used to do things in hard ways, the training was difficult, passing the examinations was a real goal, there were not so many ships around as now and the equipment we had relied more on human analysis and perception than data and electricity; there were nearly twice as many people on board, more than half of whom were good old seamen. There were not so many codes and various statutory and non-statutory regulations; we had more time but the ships still made good money and the owners were happy too. But there seems to be no end to eager wanton of more profits these days; of course, they have the right and the ISM code is there to help them. The problem is "you cannot have the pie and eat it" - one needs to pay the price too. So, expect accidents and huge losses.

39

Now that a quick categorization has taken place, let us see what the role of ISM and its requirements is. We may try to see the relevance and relations with the various clauses of the Code. Hereafter it is being tried to identify areas that this inefficacy – at least to the level expected-in the implementation and achievable results from the application of the Code can be sought or attributed to. Clause 2 - Safety and environmental protection policy This is a part that although many companies may have had difficulties in defining it, it usually gets better after the audits and advices received from consultants etc. The main trouble is that when considering the cultural backgrounds of the company managers, the policies may be written too magniloquently and trying to be glittering in nice sounding slogans. Thereafter whenever they encounter problems with extreme commitments, they would go more and more practical and will avoid too high and upholstered goals. What can be said here is that, the policy is mostly not the source of inadequacies in a shipping company but the commitment and application may very well be. Clause 3 - Company responsibilities and authority In this clause many companies have difficulties and at times trying to be smart, would refrain defining acceptable levels of authority, so that if there is a predominant culture of blame; they can easily shift the responsibility and get away with consequences. At the audits of the headquarters, this is a very important focus area for the auditor to get deeper into. On some occasions, the managers try to hide behind the ship's staff especially the master by making him more and more responsible, specifically for things that he has no control over nor approval or disapproval of the activities which are within his limits. There may be various ways to identify such misleading quota, but one good advice is to go to the basics and try to compare the management system statements against the virtue of the code. Surely the literary ability of the organizers/writers of the system is very important here and with good wordings it is not so difficult to hide or mistakenly not fulfill the requirements. Construing the various parts of this clause may lead to misconceptions too, but actually the aim of these notes is to see the possible areas that troubles are more concurrent, and to look at various versions of contextures is beyond the scope. In the early days of ISM, it was announced that it will wipe out the blame culture and will try to have a systematic approach towards the shortcomings. After a decade it has been proven that the blame culture lies deep within the people, and application of ISM alone may not be enough. The management in a company should be specifically educated to understand the dangers of blaming especially without a proper investigation and understanding the root causes. Moreover it is very important that even with the attitude of shifting blames; the company will still remain under a lot of obligations and responsibilities. Clause 4 - Designated person(s) In this clause, we rarely see lack of understanding and the reason for having a person as designated in the Code is mostly provision of a link between the management and the ship staff; this duty is usually taken care of quite well. In the companies where the DPA is an ex-seafarer; the link is very strong and the duties required by the code are better performed. But so far as it seems, it is not so very important that the DPA is a learned person about the affairs and as far as the duties of monitoring the safety and environmental protection are taken care of satisfactorily, the reasonable level is achieved. Surely if the DPA is having experience and knowledge of the specific operations, there can be better guidance given and coordination of emergency teams and feedbacks would be more realistic and practical. Anyhow this is not where non-application of most requirements is resting. Clause 5 - Master's responsibility and authority In defining the master's responsibility and authority, most companies seem to have done it well but in implying the same there are many drawbacks. When there are matters to decide, usually the

40

managers would not let them do it and prefer to make all the decisions themselves, only when it comes to taking the responsibility or burdening the blame they mostly sit back and let the master be under the whole pressure. Luckily the maritime administrations have responded to this quite reasonably and will call for actions against those who were ashore but made the decision leading to a loss or accident especially in cases where an incident of pollution has occurred. From a point of view the owners/operators may be right not to let the ship staff or master take the serious decisions, they may blame the lack of competence or expertise, but the fact still remains the same that you cannot run a ship from remote control and no matter how expert you are ashore, you should allow the person on the scene to make the evaluation and take whatever steps necessary. After all you have put the person you believed most suitable on board, so you should take the consequences. The mentioned matter can be seen by the auditors during reviewing of the analysis concerning the accidents and near misses as well as the master's review feedback and responses received for the various on-board-committee meeting reports from the management ashore. A system of careless complacency will have had irrelevant and carefree replies and those who are smarter in the issue of blaming, might have first jumped to conclusions and started attributing faults to floating staff only. Sometimes you find punitive statements in the correspondence that are not matching any principles of investigation procedures and assigning blames. The role of an internal auditor and how he/she has seen this is quite prominent. It is obvious that most of these shifting responsibilities have financial reasons and if someone ashore wanted to save pennies, would force the floating staff to take chances and unsolicited risks, such that when the troubles come, they all quote codes and various disciplines for which the master has the sole responsibility. Considering the issue of criminalization of seafarers, it can be said that the code has helped various judicial bodies to take grave measures against seafarers and especially the master. The trend of administering punishments and imprisonments for seafarers is increasing drastically these days and if the EU can be convinced on Human Rights grounds for some ease, surely there are many who are being more severe as the time goes by. The code may be able to demarcate the responsibilities and authorities in such a way that an immediate criminalization or conviction without sufficient evidence or proof can not be constructed. Clause 6 - Resources and personnel This is one of the most important clauses. The companies hardly can accomplish the requirement nowadays. Finding competent personnel is very difficult and it is getting more troublesome as the time goes by. There are so many reasons, like the new regulations, unfair treatment of seafarers and likewise pressure of the financial matters. Training is very expensive now; the companies would snatch good personnel from each other and it is not like the old days. Few companies would pay for the courses of their staff and those who pay, would plan to extract their flesh and blood instead. The matter of identification of training needs is a dilemma; when an auditor gets deep into this requirement, usually very little activity can be found. This is not only for the staff afloat, but also for the shore staff, the identification of training needs is mostly carried out as if what STCW requirements are to be fulfilled - "Just the bare minimum". For shore staff also it is usually one person allocated for many tasks. Then he/she should also evaluate the needs that are existent. Most of the time, the person who is in charge is not capable of such evaluation/identification, because he/she needs the training in the first place. There is a good motto in training philosophy that training should end up changing of career, otherwise having scattered and non-regulated knowledge will not be properly utilized. For a system pro the idea

41

of "continual improvement", the training is an obligation and so goes for the improvement of the Safety Management System. The effectiveness of training needs evaluation and the training courses derived from it can be assessed by the result it will show in the operations. Nowadays you hardly can find any ship in the world where her crew does not hold a basic training for boat and fire emergencies. But again how many ships are detained by the Port State Control officers due to lack of knowledge about this very basic requirements. Hence, the training is not effective or our tasks are not matching the training; whichever, this must be included in the training needs and Clause 6 of ISM. The fact that seafarers are not really treated humanely is also a hindrance in achieving the standards for resources and personnel. The language barriers are there more than ever. Nearly all companies need to employ multinational crew and the prime problem seems to be the communication. Another important point, but not the last of course, is the familiarization of newly assigned members. In today's fast paced maritime business, there is hardly enough time for handover procedures and if we mix them up with lesser competency/experience levels, you may end up in catastrophes. An auditor can hardly get deep into these, but a chat with some crew members and hearing them, may help a lot. Then comes the records of these activities; at times the familiarization of some items have been so ineffectively done during a short period or with a non-comprehensive procedure so that one may easily fill the form but never understand what was the whole thing about. This may happen more often with personnel on new contracts. The maritime world is now focusing on human element issues but, as it is very costly, correct implementation of the Code may necessitate special consideration of this Clause. An auditor should surely check to ascertain the amount of conformity with the system but to help an organization, a proper assessment of resources and finding the loopholes may help a lot. Clause 7 - Development of plans for shipboard operations Here what a company would need is a set of practical and concise procedures. Those at work may not have liked this very much as they thought the ISM code is trying to teach the grandmothers how to boil eggs! But, establishing plans is basically considerations for the safety aspects. In a company with an aged Safety Management System, this is not usually a problem as the problems might have been identified and taken care of. Let us see why then we still have problems and lots of accidents occur. At first glace this may be due to the fact that people do not follow the procedures properly. Secondly there may be lack of understanding of the procedures or else there can be a chance of mechanical failures and acts of god as well. The keyword for non-following is complacency. For many personnel, existence of some procedures and checklists for the areas that the code may require are like jokes, things that only take time and are merely paper work. The people, who are professionals at their work, grow complacent somehow and that is how the procedures are overlooked and accidents occur. If you are an old electrician, it does not mean that the electricity has made an acquaintance with you and will not harm you if a live wire is touched with bare hands. Misunderstanding the procedures and lack of proper understanding can be due to lack of familiarization or inability to understand the language of the text/procedures. This again, as discussed in the Resources part, is a matter of training shortcomings. Overlooking the checklists is an important point. For many this is considered as a burden and a waste of time by doing paper-work. The real feature as an aide memoir is not considered and a critical part is forgotten; then, an unwanted thing happens. In investigation of various types of accidents, having a checklist can really help, no matter how good or experienced you are, otherwise you may end up having missed very simple areas to see.

42

Auditing this clause, we can have a look at how simple and engrossing the checklists are. By having too many and long checklists, the operators tend to tick them without going through; finding such instances in the areas of repetitious operations like arrival and departures are quite common. Although we cannot do much about acts of god we may be able to foresee lots of cases with regard to mechanical failures. For this matter, a lengthy argument may be required in the part concerning Clause 10. Here we may check if the system of devising plans for shipboard operations is live, i.e. new matters give rise to new procedures or inefficient plans are revised and updated. Hence maintaining the plans should be seen as important. Clause 8 - Emergency preparedness In devising emergency response teams, the companies may go the wrong way if they include only big bosses there. A well comprised team should have experienced and knowledgeable operators as well. As this team needs to make difficult decisions, the conservative mangers try to get away with it so that later they would not get the blame. Another point is the team’s drill. Apart from the shipboard drills as stipulated in the existing rules and conventions, every emergency team needs to have drills to be able to assess the troubles which may be possible in the process. The usual problems are late gathering of the members and inadequate communication. Either the ship cannot get to them or the communication between the team and out-sources are not established. To have the drills unannounced has better results probably. For the system to have identified the possible emergencies, a good check and risk assessment is vital. Having a cliché pattern for the emergencies may not be very helpful at real situations. The type of emergencies may vary with the cargo on board, weather conditions, route, traffic and many other criteria as well as the competency of the crew on board. One cannot really declare to have foreseen all possible emergencies, but a practical approach and truly learning lessons from accidents could be the key elements. One very important point concerning this Clause is what many a time the others have also talked about. That is the need for a risk assessment and analysis. The necessity of this is not mainly for the sake of emergency preparedness but it will also be very useful in caring for Clause 10, part 3 of the ISM code. What the shipping companies must realize is the fact that those who have declared some cases as the possible emergencies in their manual and inserted procedures to tackle them without a risk assessment approach, might have done so incompletely and narrowly that the emergency preparedness requirement can not be achieved. During the early days of the code a cliché approach and copying from the text/work books identifying the possible emergencies might have helped but now we are seemingly in trouble. Referring back to the beginning of this essay, the number of accidents has not changed as expected. This may partly be attributed to the fact that we have not properly identified our weak points or vulnerable areas. The already identified risks must have had a basis such as the recommended approach but we surely need to redo and reassess the risks to find out where are the places we have not seen and why many uncontrolled incidents are still taking place. In the documentation of the emergency preparedness information, an area to look for is the updating of addresses, phone numbers and relevant data that need to be checked on a routine basis, otherwise in an emergency they may not be valid and the essence of preparedness is lost. Clause 9 - Reports and analysis of non-conformities, accidents and hazardous occurrences In this Clause we may find numerous points for inadequate conformities. First of all is the reporting; many ship-borne operators do not like to report accidents or hazardous occurrences as this may be construed as their lack of competency.

43

Depending upon the cultural background, reporting an accident may be detrimental to personal pride and on the other hand, the companies may have punitive measures for those who report problems oftentimes. These measures may not at first glance look so punishing, but the aftermath will make the reporter very much regretting the act. These may vary from so many questions coming up or the various requirements of forms and checklists to fill up and things like follow up reports and stirring the mud. At the end you would prefer not to have done it. The other point is about the near misses; many companies have failed to give a proper definition about the “Near Miss” cases. That is not because they ignore it, but mainly due to the fact that the meaning is widely construed amongst the people in the business. Some would take a small incident as a near miss but others will prefer to call those instances that an accident could have happened and it has luckily been avoided, and so on. Seemingly there is a need to make this definition clear, whatever the explanation is; it should be well understood amongst mariners to be able to report and have an eye for. The matter of analyzing the non-conformities and accidents is another difficult issue. A request to downgrade an NC usually ends up with only the correction of the thing which was being done incorrectly. It hardly reaches the root cause analysis for accidents/mishaps and NC cases. This is quite understandable as the analyzing part is difficult, and identifying a root cause may at times be impossible or need involvement of managers and other people. An auditor can see this problem in the requests of closures and reports investigation of accidents. To try educating the company during various sessions as well as the shipborne staff during meetings for the correct procedure may help a lot. After a decade of ISM being in force, if you dig into records, you may find many identical cases of NC in the same company or on board the same ship. This can be attributed amongst other reasons to the fact that a proper root cause analysis or preventive measures have never been accomplished. Usually as soon as a wrong procedure has been corrected or the incorrect becomes correct, most auditees expect a closure and the steps like analysis, reaching a root cause and prevention from recurrence are missed. The training about this should be turned into a culture, starting from understanding of a non-conformity; that it is not a fault found, hence by a correction can not be dispensed with. Taking an NC as an area for improvement is the key element. We may need to look into similar areas if the same non-conformance exists & also try to implement throughout the system not a single correction. This really needs to be looked into more seriously now. Moreover as the set of activities for this Clause may be entering many arenas, the consent of the managers is quite vital. In the companies that the management representative has very good skills in public and specific relations, achievements can be done with lesser efforts and time-span. Clause 10 - Maintenance of the ship and equipment This Clause is probably the most troublesome area in the whole code. Having a look at the result of various audits, one can easily see that the majority of the Non-Conformances issued are related to this Clause. All companies seem to have made some system for carrying out the maintenance, a requirement being existence of a Planned Maintenance Programme/system. The so called PMP has many loopholes oftentimes. The overhauling time limits or service due dates may have been copied from other similar equipment which are not exactly identical or at least vary in time in service, model etc. Inadequate considerations of the equipment limitations or design may also end up to inefficient PMP. The huge number of occurrences of non-conformities or most of the major non-conformities concerning this Clause indicate that many systems have failed to observe the requirements of the code. What else can be seen is the fact that there is a lack of an inspection programme or of keeping records. Having no records is not always unintentional, it will always be easier to refrain from replying

44

to inadequacies reported if there are no records, and lesser records may mean lesser problems and a smooth system. The matter of corrective actions as discussed earlier is also one of the main concerns in this part. Here, with regard to Clause 10 part 3 of the code, there seems to be a dilemma. Quite often the auditors ask to see that there is a list of such equipment the sudden failure of which may result in a hazardous situation. There seems to be an ambiguity about these equipments, in that so many (nearly all) of the equipments in operation can be referred to as such. If we go in a consequential way, the way that every device is placed on board must have had something to do with the running of the vessel and the sudden failure may result in an emergency. Let us take main engines, auxiliaries, compressors etc; they can all be considered to be amongst these equipments. The question is: should we list them all? If yes, what will happen if we miss some which we considered less important? Another point of view sees all the emergency equipment as such, like the emergency fire pump, emergency generator, compressor etc. If we say that these equipments are designated for emergency cases then the matter of "sudden failure and result to hazardous situation" would be null and void. They are not in operation that the sudden failure can be addressed to. Considering the requirements stipulated in SOLAS like having a secondary means of power or GMDSS equipment back-up or duplication, then another idea about the so called equipment can be raised; that if such identification should be documented or the regulated systems under statutory requirements would suffice. What can be suggested here as necessary is the implementation of a risk assessment approach whereby such equipment can be identified. We may compare it to ISPS code requirements. That code was seemingly devised in a better manner in this regard, so that having risk assessment matrixes were obligatory and thereafter we can identify the system weaknesses and plan/act accordingly. For ISM code requirements such an assessment was not obligatory and as a result every company had its own way for dealing with 10.3. Some would be more orthodox and go for a risk assessment and end up with reasonable maintenance programme, some would consider the existing system sufficient until a problem occurs up and others may not have really thought of or taken care of the matter at all. One might even suggest the idea that this part of the code can even be omitted totally as the statutory regulations have taken care of it and the paramount understanding of the ISM code as to abide by the existing national and international requirements will fulfill the requirement. We can also consider shifting this part of Clause 10 to Clause 8 where it can be clearly addressed and lead to a proper risk assessment approach be stipulated. Clause 11 - Documentation Clause 11 is the area that many of seafarers may complain about. The increase in paperwork is a continuous burden; many are stating it but we do very little in response. The primary idea of having documents under control was for securing the authenticity and having proper records. The records could be quite helpful and an actual necessity in a law suit. For most mariners filling checklists seem superfluous once they are familiar with the job; the matter of using it as an aide memoir is usually forgotten. The traceability of documents is usually achieved through a good document control. The companies hardly have problems about this but on board ships, it is not so difficult to find wrongly done papers and backdated/future dated documents. While training the personnel for ISM familiarization, it would be worth explaining to them how valuable these extra bits and pieces of paper work, and try to understand the benefits of good record-keeping.

45

Clause 12 - Company verification, review and evaluation This is the last Clause in the part we are looking at. Here, the conduct of audits, especially internal audits are to be seen. The auditors should be trained in their field and have a good knowledge about the internal relations. What can happen oftentimes is that the auditors would go very easy and "no report - all fine" results come up in an area that at times even major non-conformities are reported. This can be due to the interests involved in the department or there are a lot of internal influences. It can be acquired by having the internal auditors as independent as possible from the area concerned although this may be not so easy in small companies. The matter of following up corrective and preventive actions still remains as a prominent area. The corrective actions usually lack proper analysis and are just corrections and endeavors/measures to avoid recurrence would be missing. A main concern to look at is the throughout implementation and promulgation within the company as already discussed earlier. The master’s and management’s review of results can be an interesting arena. Yet again the masters may have been cornered not to issue the elementary points, and if ever issued, the proper reaction and transfer of the same in the management review meeting are missing. The management review meetings will depend again on the culture predominant which can range from a small gathering with very little results to large conferences such that there would be so many ideas stated and reinstated that the follow up at the end can be virtually impossible or extremely difficult. If one can see the repetition of some type of non-conformance in a company and no talk about it in the management reviews, this may be a sign that as the paper work business goes, a meeting has been held with so many good statements but no actual improvement has been materialized. This may be the problem with many companies that the trace of a good review of the system is missing and the safety management system will be somehow petrified to only fill the papers and doing just the minimum as required by the code. We must accept that whatever we do, we need seafarers to run ships. Then we must respect and value them by providing job security and protection for professionally imposed burdens and responsibilities. After all by having a good reporting system and follow-up, our investments will be fruitful and the assets will grow. This may be where those managers who want to cut down on everything should be warned. What we need to consider is that having a Safety Management System as so often is repeated, requires commitment from the top and management support and approval. Furthermore one must emphasize upon the need that ISM should be taught again as all levels in the company ashore and afloat. It must be believed in and trusted upon. The relationship between safety management and profitable running of ships should also be understood amongst all involved. As long as personnel see it as a burden and extra work, we will not reach anywhere. May we refer to the principal system requirements as Plan-Do-Check and Act? If we can start all over again and try teaching the newcomers in this profession - as well as those who are already here - about the correct concept and a fair construing of the code, along with some changes in the ISM code itself and some explanation of the various clauses, then we may expect some improvement and probably acceptance in roots of the industry. Then, we may see a reduction in some areas of mishaps that the code has a direct influence on. Unfortunately, we seem to have neglected the very important human element issues. The inspection done on board cannot be so effective if the person doing so is not trained for the task, or not secured for the job. Once problems about the maintenance are found, if the reply from the management is punitive or discouraging, the reports will stop coming. The personnel will try keeping a low profile to avoid problems within and more seriously things like losing the job. Luckily accidents would not happen oftentimes or at least the major ones are not so frequent. Hence the trend will grow somehow insipid and the requirements of the code will be just on paper and not effective. We may all try all over again!

46

X. O' God! Have mercy on these amphibians Summary When you read a text of biology that explains how the life started at sea or in water and then came to dry land, there are many interesting points in it. We may compare the insolate migration of the sea-creatures to land to what is happening to seafarers these days. They wanted food as it was scarce at sea; this may not at first glance be comparable but let's see it from another point of view. It is true that the seafarers may get more money than most of those with the same education or experience ashore but at what price? In many parts of the world, the overtime wages are dependent upon the time of that overtime and if after midnight or so during bank holidays, the rate is quite high. The reason may be the fact that the person is actually compensated for the effort being spent and being away from the family, friends or whatever else desired. The wages at sea may be higher than shore due to this fact; but are they really compensating is the question. They are Ectothermic or rather Poikilothermic i.e. their temperature changes with the ambient temperature and adapt themselves as so. The mariners are very much adaptable too; there are quite a number of changes every day in the normal routine of their work and life as well as the various shocks being felt due to new regulations and laws being enforced. They not only adapt to such atmospheres but later on try to make use of and get professional in. This perhaps is the nature that helps them but what we are seemingly forgetting is that how far we can push or where the limits are. The amphibians escaped to land to avoid the predators such as giant fishes and sharks which were growing larger and larger as the time passed by and there was no way to stay away from. Very unfortunately, but it is a bitter fact, the seafarers are being repelled from sea for the same of so many reasons. The world trade depends on them in a vital way but yet again the arena is getting so tight that whoever has a chance would not like to stay at sea anymore. It seems to be the Chytridiomycosis∗of the mistreatments that are being practiced against the mariners which is the major cause of this migration and or initially having seen no interest in joining the career. If we try to have an honest look at the treatment they are receiving in various sections we will know how repugnant the attitude is. The unreasonable and inhumane treatment in alleged pollution cases This perhaps is the only area in the world that the person will be criminalized/imprisoned before the case is proven. There had been many cases that a seafarer has been deprived of basic human rights only after a suspected case and he/she would be taken off normal living condition and if lucky, in a reasonable custody until the courts decide otherwise; and if the person is unlucky he/she will be sent directly to prison along with all the criminals that are convicted of a crime, until the case is judged. With this unfair treatment what can we expect from the mariners? Those who are in the job will be waiting for a chance to get away and those who may have had a plan to go to sea will be highly discouraged as it really is not worth doing with so much vulnerability and openness to punitive measures even before the misconduct or wrongful act is proven. The attack of various port officials on board exerts a great deal of pressure on ship staff especially the master. This is really one of the most undesirable experiences the seafarers are confronted with. After a long sea-passage with god knows how many troubles passed by, in the early moments of arrival in a port,

∗ Chytridiomycosis: A type of fatal disease which affects the amphibians

47

the ships are raided by so many squads that if we take a second and look at the whole operations, we will admit that they are getting off-limits. The agents would be there for the ship's main business. The various inspectors want the ship as nice as their standards stipulated in the books say - There had been occasions that they do not even consider the vessel's passage through heavy seas and the damages or ugly looks would be noted down as lack of maintenance and proper workmanship on board. The owner's groaning after the reception of the reports and so many other consequences that might have resulted from the office-engineer-like views. The variety of inspectors, port officials, ISPS and ISM officers as well as the ship's commercial activators all want their errands and tasks to be attended at the first priority and strangely consider their own business the most important. Consequently, the master has no choice other than to deal with this one before the other and this continuous chafing along with physical tiredness will really be nerve breaking. This way we again are repelling the seafarers from the life they have chosen. With the ISPS regulations in force, many of the sea ports are fully or partly closed to seafarers One should imagine how he or she would feel that after a long sea passage and life away from the family or society, the treatment is worse than animals in a zoological garden. It is interesting that a ship and its cargo worth millions of currency units is safe in the hands of that group of amphibians that are called mariners when at sea, but they cannot even take a walk in the nearby city - the one place which may satisfy a minor fraction of their requirements as a simple demanding human entity. We really need to revise our systems and views. How much of the crime in the world is committed by seafarers? Are they really the dangerous group of invaders to a country? Seemingly not but they are so unfairly taken wrong and mistreated. It is obvious that no-one will ever like to join such life. We will keep on loosing the number of seafarers everyday. The increasing workload, lack of professional workers, reduction in manning and the effect of new regulations and conventions These have really burdened the modern mariners' lives to an intolerable level. One wonders why there were lesser regulatory bodies before but lesser accidents and losses. It is agreeable that so much of shipping needs so many rules to follow but we should not forget that these crowded roadsteads need seafarers to run the ships in and the over loading that is being forced onto them is getting out of hand. There is a fine note to quote from Plato that: "there are two reasons or driving forces in life; one is pleasure and the other is material; once any of them is discarded or is of no more utility; you should change the life style". According to what came earlier in this essay, we leave no other choice for the seafarers than to leave the sea and this career. It is not strange to see very few youngsters who have an interest to join this profession. There are many striking news nowadays that there will be a great shortage for merchant seaman, especially in the ranks of master and senior engineers. As per studies, the time required to raise a senior officer is about 12 years; this means that we are already lagging a great deal. What needs to be reiterated here is the fact that for god's sake let's look at what we are doing with the seamen. We are really pushing these people out of the sea. We make their lives miserable and expect far too much from them everyday by giving nothing or very little in return. The world trade owes a lot to the mariners but we are observant to the deteriorating conditions at sea. We may have stipulated conditions for living/sleeping quarters for seamen but we do not give them

48

time to rest or sleep. We have devised Ship Security Alert System for ships but honestly is it really of much help to mariners? If you are being attacked, you are most probably in a remote and exiled area where there are few rules and your cry for help will not actually be responded to. We have implemented the ISM code everywhere in the industry. While not denying the help to safety it has provided, one must not forget the bureaucratic burden it has created for the ship's personnel that at times renders the system incapable and useless. We have created the ISPS to restrict mariners only; there are still lots of wrongdoers there in the ports; lots of smuggling is going on - but we only stop the seafarers to walk ashore and so the story goes on. The maritime world needs to come back to simple principles; the human element is the basis for the industry. We should value them in a humane way just as we value others. The rest periods regulations are there, but are we checking that how can that be possible with these many errands that we have created for the seafarers? The industry should take the warning that in a few years there shall be lots of ships and cargo to trade with but not enough crew to run them. This bitter fact has seemingly reached our tastes already. This part is not like the migrations of the sea-creatures that these amphibians will soon stop going back to sea and would become landlubbers. This part is surely not matching the ethos of evolution.

49

References and further readings (1) IMO Assembly Resolution A- 884(21) – Marine Accident Investigator’s International Forum - M.A.I.I.F (2)Various Research Projects by Seafarers’ International Research Centre – www.sirc.cf.ac.uk (3) The International Maritime Human Element Bulletin available at: www.he-alert.org (4) “The Law” by Avicenna, 1975, Javeedan (5) “L’ Homme, cet inconnu” (Human being, an unknown Existence) by Dr. Alexis Carrel, 1939, Carrel Institute (6) “Syntactic Structures” by Noam Chomsky, 1957, Institute of Languages & Linguistics (7) “Witgenstein & Modern Philosophy” by Justus Hartnack, David Pears, London 1971, Fontana Collins (8) “Poems of Thomas Love Peacock”, The Oxford book of English Verse, 1931, Oxford Press (9) Refer to STCW Code Chapter VIII and watch-keeping arrangements standards and ILO 147 (Regulations related to Rest Periods) (10) “Factors Determining the Human Behaviour” by Jean Piaget, 1937, Harvard University Press (11) “Psychological Factors in Gastrointestinal disturbances” by F. Alexander, 1934, Psychoanalysis quarterly [3] (12) Effects of pressure on Biology, can be referred to “Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology” www.cshl-symposium.org & www.cbcrp.org (13) “Theories of Psychoanalysis” by Gerald S. Blum, 1952, Psychological corporation (14) “Great Tales & Poems” by Edgar Allan Poe, 1951, Pocket Books (15) “L’ Etranger” by Albert Camus, 1942, Pinguin (16) For more information, the reader can refer to: www.homeopathic.com (17) “Rigoletto Opera” by G.Verdi, Act II, (Woman’s waywardness) (18) Reference can be made to projects in “Loughborough Sleep Research Centre” at www.lboro.ac.uk (19) Nostalgia (Spleen & Nostalgia), “A life and Work in Psychoanalysis” by John E.Gedo, 1997, Rowman (20) “Providence” by Anita Brookner, 1983, Triad Grafton Books (21) “Poems of Imagination” by William Wordsworth, (The Sonnet’s Scanty Plot), 1996, Pinguin (22) A due reference in this regard can be made to various Guidelines issued by the P and I clubs, Nautical Institute, International Chamber of Shipping etc. (23) International Labour Organization and various conventions as related to seafarers, namely ILO 147(recently being enunciated as MLC- Maritime Labour Convention through IMO)