Britain leads crew fatigue fight.

(From Lloyds List)

Byline: One in four seafarers admits to having fallen asleep on watch, writes David Osler

ONE in four seafarers admits having fallen asleep on watch, according to a British academic study that has been six years in the making.

The research, conducted on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Health and Safety Executive, 'adds weight' to calls for stricter International Maritime Organization guidelines on safe manning, the MCA said yesterday. The comments mark the clearest signal yet that Britain is determined to re-open an issue that has been effectively on hold at the agency for more than a year.

Last year the British government submitted a paper to the IMO Maritime Safety Committee on fatigue and undermanning. But it was withdrawn at the last minute, officially for administrative and technical reasons.

However, some sources close to developments suggested that Britain was effectively ordered to back-pedal by the European Union.

Another document was submitted to the MSC earlier this year and was referred to a session of the Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping for consideration in January.