Fatigue and exhaustion are major risks associated with life at sea, especially as owner-operators circumvent minimum safe manning standards, overwork crew beyond maximum overtime levels, and rely on exploitative working conditions.
Under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), limits are established on maximum hours of work and minimum hours of rest. However, in practice, these standards are frequently undermined by unsafe work organisation, insufficient crewing levels and commercial pressures to maintain tight schedules. Seafarers often work long and irregular hours, with cumulative fatigue reducing alertness, impairing decision-making and significantly increasing the risk of accidents, injuries and fatalities at sea.
Survey-based research released in 2024 – conducted by the World Maritime University and funded by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust – highlights that:
- 93.4% of seafarers agree that fatigue is the most common safety-related challenge onboard a ship
- the average working week of surveyed seafarers is around 75 hours, with almost 90% having no weekly day off64.3% of seafarers reported adjusting their work/rest records, with 80.2% saying that adjustments were to avoid any findings during inspections, and 75% saying adjustments were made to avoid problems with the shipping company
The ITF’s Flags of Convenience (FOC) campaign highlights how weak regulatory oversight and cost-cutting practices contribute to excessive working hours and unsafe manning. Shipowners operating under FOCs may circumvent labour protections, pushing crews beyond safe limits to reduce operational costs. Tasks may be expanded without adequate training or staffing, further intensifying workload and risk. One such additional task is lashing (the securing of containers to the deck of a vessel, using heavy lashing bars and bottle screws), which should only be carried out by trained dock workers, undertaking the work in a port where the ship is berthed securely, as opposed to while a ship is in motion or at sea.
Fatigue is not an individual failing but a predictable outcome of how work is structured. It is closely linked to other risks, including poor remuneration, job insecurity and limited access to reporting mechanisms. In isolated maritime environments, seafarers may feel unable to refuse unsafe work or report fatigue due to fear of retaliation or blacklisting. Addressing fatigue requires recognising it as a structural risk embedded in business models and ensuring that work organisation, crewing and scheduling are aligned with safety, human rights and international labour standards.