According to some estimates, roughly 2,000 seafarers die every year. But why should these people lose their lives? Humans have been traversing the seas for thousands of years. We’ve made countless technological advances. Yet the ocean remains the world’s deadliest workplace.
The leading causes of container ship fatalities
As The Guardian noted when it looked into the often-underreported issue of shipping deaths, Western media rarely cover shipping accidents because the crew for commercial ships hail mainly from poorer, Eastern countries.
This means that people looking for answers need to dig deeper to find them. You might look at the data supplied by the insurer Allianz, which publishes an annual Safety and Shipping Review. They report that the leading causes of commercial shipping deaths involve:
Notably, the deaths lumped into the “other” category outnumbered all the other categories except for machinery damage and failure. It’s also notable that nearly all these deaths appear preventable.
These numbers don’t reflect deaths caused by sudden squalls or acts of piracy. They suggest deaths that owe to unseaworthy vessels, poor training and poor maintenance. They reflect a world in which companies hire as few crew members as possible to sail a massive vessel, and those crew suffer accidents as a result of their fatigue.
Ship owners have a responsibility to their crew
The ocean is a dangerous workplace, and the world’s ship owners know this. They buy insurance to protect their interests, but they need to protect you, as well. They need to ensure their vessels are seaworthy. They need to train their crew. And they need to follow all the rules and regulations that govern their industry. They shouldn’t shortcut your safety.
Commercial shipping remains a high-risk industry. But the good news is that when employers take reasonable steps to protect their employees, fewer ships face incidents. Fewer sailors die. As the most recent Allianz report revealed, 2018 saw roughly half as many losses as the year before. There’s no good reason for sailors to suffer or die.
]]>A CNBC survey of the ten deadliest careers, released at the end of 2019, once again found commercial fishing ranked right near the top. This time, it took the number two spot. And this begs the question: What makes fishing so dangerous?
Seven facts about the risks facing commercial fishermen
CNBC offered a summary of the dangers fishermen commonly face, but it’s rather generic and may be somewhat dissatisfying. They note that fishing can lead to accidents that “involve boat accidents or falls from boats.” They go on to note that the days are long, and the work is hard.
If you’re looking for a better picture of the dangers you could face while fishing, you might prefer the information presented by an article in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Its authors reviewed more than a decade’s worth of data and found:
These statistics led the researchers and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to a couple key conclusions:
Of course, you can only do what’s in your power to control. You can wear your safety vest and follow your safety protocols while on deck. But that won’t stop your ship from sinking if the hull has rotted. When your injuries—or those of someone you love—owe to the unseaworthiness of a vessel or to an employer’s negligence, you may have cause to file a claim.
Understanding maritime claims
Most employees benefit from workers’ comp, but their claims depend on state laws that don’t apply at sea. Fishermen and other maritime workers generally want to work with maritime attorneys to seek recovery under the Jones Act or other maritime laws.
]]>That means you want to stay mindful of the dangers that surround you. You work to make a living, and you can’t allow injuries to interrupt your income. But you can reduce the chances of any such interruption by learning the most common causes of shipboard injuries and by learning your options for recovery.
5 common causes of shipboard injuries
You can avoid most injuries by being careful. You receive safety training for a reason. But accidents still happen. Some of the most shipboard injuries include:
You already want to do everything you can to stay safe. Now that you know these common causes of shipboard injuries, you can do even more—by avoiding situations where accidents are more likely.
What if you can’t avoid an accident?
State laws may not apply when you’re out at sea. That means most sailors’ claims aren’t covered by workers’ compensation, but by maritime law. And most of your key protections stem from the Jones Act, which requires your employer to provide a safe workspace.
Claims made under the Jones Act work something like personal injury claims but have slightly different standards of proof. They also rely on different laws, which makes it important for injured seamen to work with attorneys seasoned in maritime cases.
]]>Per the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the repetitive actions associated with fishing, hauling in catches and performing related tasks can place a serious strain on your neck, back, shoulders and other body parts. While maintaining proper workplace ergonomics can help mitigate your risk of suffering repetitive strain injuries, back stresses and similar problems, the nature of your job as a commercial fishing professional exposes you, nonetheless, to these types of injuries.
Because of your profession, you face a heightened risk, when compared with other professionals, of injuring your back or spine. In addition to having to often work in snug environments and close quarters, you may, too, spend longer-than-typical hours standing or hunching over, which can cause serious injuries to develop over time.
As a commercial fisherman, you also run the risk of developing an ergonomic injury to your shoulders or elbows. “Tennis elbow,” for example, is a well-known term for an ergonomic injury common among those in your profession. You can find out more about maritime and fishing vessel injuries by visiting our webpage.
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