World Maritime University and Solent University have published a new paper examining how procedural and regulatory limitations in port State control inspections allow widespread non-compliance with seafarers’ work/rest hours regulations to go undetected.
The “Context matters: Weaknesses in port State control enforcement of work/rest hours regulations” paper examines the practice of inspections by port State control (PSC) officers through 55 semi-structured interviews. Findings show that initial inspections remain simple document consultation. Cross-checking records accuracy is scarce, allowing many instances of non-compliance to go unnoticed.
Additionally, PSC officers reported that seafarers skilfully align records, complicating the detection of inconsistencies. Current guideline limitations, time and resource constraints, and the pressure on PSC officers drive them towards prioritizing technical issues over human factors-related issues such as fatigue and work/rest hours.
To remind, in 2024, the World Maritime University published another paper called “Quantifying an inconvenient truth : revisiting a culture of adjustment on work/rest hours,” highlighting that seafarers endure longer working hours compared to their onshore counterparts. As recent surveys showed, only 3.3% of seafarers’ weekly working hours align with the global average of 43 hours.
Consequently, considering the impacts of PSC officers’ working context, the report presents key recommendations that are possible options to enforce work/rest hours regulations. These include:
1- Strengthening compliance monitoring tools
There is a critical need for tamper-resistant recording systems, similar to those used in the trucking industry, to improve compliance monitoring. Reliable systems would enable more effective detection of non-compliance during initial inspections without requiring extensive investigations.
As inspection scopes widen and time pressures increase, robust monitoring tools would help PSC officers verify compliance more efficiently while optimising inspection processes.
2- Investing in inspector capacity and training
Enforcement outcomes would improve through increased investment in resources, particularly by hiring more PSC inspectors with seafaring backgrounds. Comprehensive training on work/rest hours and human factors is essential to ensure consistent enforcement across the maritime industry.
Such training should enable officers to recognize signs of fatigue, understand the consequences of non-compliance, and distinguish between inadvertent record errors and deliberate falsification.
3- Updating and clarifying regulatory guidance
Regular reviews and updates of IMO guidelines are necessary to address evolving enforcement challenges. Revised guidelines should clearly define deficiency criteria and specify appropriate actions for non-compliance, supporting consistent documentation and handling by PSC officers.
Clear guidance is also needed to differentiate unintentional inaccuracies from intentional falsification, strengthening efforts to identify and address falsified records.
4- Ensuring accountability and a level playing field
To maintain a global level playing field, collective responses to violations should be established, with penalties and sanctions directed at those controlling manning and operational decisions, namely shipping companies.
The enforcement weaknesses identified reveal systemic failures by both flag and port States to meet their obligations to implement and enforce regulations.
These shortcomings undermine efforts to manage fatigue and raise serious concerns about the maritime community’s willingness to address the issue decisively.
