Ship first: Seafarers' adjustment of records on work and rest hours

摘要

The article explores the recordkeeping practices of seafarers concerning the implementation of work and rest hours' regulations. In particular, it considers what motivates seafarers to hide their violations through record adjustment. The research adopted a qualitative research methodology to understand this industry problem, involving the use of semi-structured interviews. These were conducted with 20 seafarers to analyze their recording practices and adjustment of records. The participants underline that the imbalance between workload and manning levels leads to recurrent violations, particularly during port-related operations and for seafarers on the 6On/6Off watch system. To hide their violation and feign compliance, the data revealed that almost all seafarers in our study adjusted work and rest hours' records. The fear of the consequences of non-conformities during third party inspections is the main driver for such adjustment of records. Employment concerns and job insecurity tend to make seafarers submissive to the companies' interests, and they place the ship interests first. Flag State, Port State, and shipping companies seem to disregard violations and adjustments. Therefore, adjusting records seems a low-risk option for seafarers. However, systematic adjustment of records points to failures of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code and its audit system. In many cases, seafarers accept unfavorable work conditions and embrace the ethos of 'ship first'.