IMPACT OF FATIGUE ON SEAFARER'S PERFORMANCE

There is no doubt that the maritime transport is one of the most important means of the global transportations. Whereas the maritime transport represents around 90% of the global trade market, according to BIMCO (The Baltic and International Maritime Council) statistic. Maritime transport has several trends globally, among which is the transfer of cargo and its movement between different countries in the east and west, north and south as well as the transfer of drilling materials and equipment to the rigs, which do their part in the field of gas and oil exploration and search in the depths of the seas and oceans. The human factor is considered one of the fundamental elements upon which the maritime transport depends. It has been demonstrated that this factor was the main cause of accidents and consequently the human and material losses (Berg, 2013).There are several other factors, such as the act of god, ships maneuverability, port accessibility, etc. therefore, it is important to study those factors which affecting to those who work in the field of maritime transport and the large workload undertaken by seamen. Given the difficulty of labour on some cargo vessels and the continuous work periods without getting adequate rest, the seaman’s health and psychological well-being may be negatively affected. Accordingly, human error occurs especially on large vessels operating on short trips including non-stop loading and discharging work. There are several causes of fatigue to seamen, such as manning ships with the minimum crew members, the increasing of the operational and administrative burdens in the shorter trips, the seamen being distant from their families for a long time as well as the difficulty of getting enough time to rest and sleep because of the ship’s positions and movement during sailing or loading, discharging and the noise. International organizations such as the IMO (International Maritime Organization) and the ILO (International Labour Organization) were concerned with all the seamen’s problems and the long working hours from which they suffer. They had issued several international agreements where they specified the maximum working hours and the minimum hours of rest, such as the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978 and the Maritime Lab or Convention (MLC), 2006. This research paper addresses a study of the causes of maritime accidents of ships, including the fatigue factor and the impact on the marine environment and, subsequently, injuries and considerable economic losses. This will be achieved through a deep study of two ship collisions, one carrying general cargo, and the other carrying liquefied gas