CAMM Position 04-07: One Man Bridge Watch

Position
04-07

One Man Bridge Watch
A proven safety concern

OPPOSED

CAMM continues its opposition to the practice of a one-man bridge watch for the following reasons:

The system has no backup should a watchstander fall ill or is injured. �Dead Man� alarms are not mandatory.
While operating the GMDSS equipment, maneuvering vessel in traffic, plotting and fixing vessel�s position, programming equipment and �calls of nature�, the vessel is not maintaining a proper lookout as required by International Regulations.
As an example, in the waters surrounding Britain where the one man bridge watch is generally employed on most short sea and coastal shipping routes, an average of six ships a year go aground purely as a result of the watch-keeper falling asleep, becoming incapacitated or being absent from the bridge. Since 1993, sixty groundings have occurred for the same reasons.

It should be clear to the International Shipping Community that this experiment of safety vs. cost has been lost. In this age of faster, larger and more complex vessels under increasing pressure of schedule integrity, regulation and training, the addition of a qualified seaman to the bridge team is essential and should be required. Why must we wait for a major environment disaster and loss of life to occur before recognizing the danger signs that the above statistics prove over the course of many years?

CAMM urges amendments to International Regulations which would require the presence of an additional watchstander on the bridge for vessels of 1,600 gross tons and greater.

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