The effect of circadian rhythms on shipping accidents

It is a well-known fact that humans are subject to circadian alterations caused by the action of sunlight. This strongly affects their behaviour and skill, making them change their level of alertness from high at daytime to low at night-time. Taking into account this biological feature, and consider...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of navigation 2021-09, Vol.74 (5), p.1189-1199
Main Authors: Vinagre-Ríos, Juan, Pérez-Canosa, José-Manuel, Iglesias-Baniela, Santiago
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accident investigations
Adaptation
Age groups
Alertness
Biological clocks
Bridges
Circadian rhythm
Circadian rhythms
Darkness
Light
Melatonin
Night shifts
Physiology
Shift work
Shipping
Shipping industry
Sleep
Working conditions
Working hours
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Summary:It is a well-known fact that humans are subject to circadian alterations caused by the action of sunlight. This strongly affects their behaviour and skill, making them change their level of alertness from high at daytime to low at night-time. Taking into account this biological feature, and considering that commercial shipping is one of the oldest round-the-clock activities, raises the question whether bridge watchkeepers can carry out their tasks on night shifts with the same level of alertness as on day shifts. Furthermore, night bridge watchkeeping has to be performed in darkness or very dim light to improve the visual capacity of lookouts. A sample of vessel collisions was analysed and it was find out that this kind of accident tends to be more frequent and more serious during the darkness period of the solar day.
ISSN:0373-4633
1469-7785
DOI:10.1017/S0373463321000333