Safety Lessons from Marine Incident Investigation (AMSA Report) No.29 – June 2024

Fatigue puts fishing vessel on the rocks

Overview

A lone cray fisher was heading for shelter during poor weather. He had been working for 17 hours without rest. While nearing the planned anchor point, the master fell asleep at the helm and the vessel continued on, running aground on the rocky shoreline.

What happened

The master was operating the vessel alone when he fell asleep. The vessel continued on for a further 800 metres until it grounded near the shore. The master was woken by the vessel grounding.

Initially, the master used the vessel’s bilge pumps to counter water ingress. However, the vessel began to flood to a point that the bilge pumps could not keep up with water ingress. The master abandoned the vessel via a tender.

The motivation for the long day was an attempt to retrieve cray pots which were in the water. This had been hampered by inclement weather.

Investigation findings

The master acknowledged that they fell asleep due to fatigue, and that caused the vessel to run around.

Safety message

Fatigued crew are very likely to make mistakes or fall asleep, putting people and the environment at risk. Fatigue is caused by lack of quality sleep, long working hours, body clock disruptions (i.e. working at night) and work demands. Working while fatigued has the same effect as being drunk.

There are several tell-tale signs of fatigue.

Inability to stay awake (head nodding, microsleeps or falling asleep involuntarily), difficulty with hand-eye coordination, dropping objects like tools or parts.
Slow or no response to abnormal or emergency situations, lapses of attention, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating and thinking clearly.
Irregular mood changes, ignoring normal checks and procedures, increasing mistakes and carelessness.

Working alone means no one else is there to support you.

Owners and masters must take reasonable steps to ensure their vessel and crew are safe. This includes mitigating the risk of fatigue in the workplace. By understanding the causes and consequences of fatigue we can reduce safety hazards and improve health, wellbeing, and performance across the maritime industry. The links below provide practical guidance on managing crew fatigue.