Land-bound user need to ask sea-wise ppl :)?

Question

For commerical shipping vessel, wht safety and health issues do the crew face?

In international water, wht regulations govern the safety and health issues and how is compliance monitored?

And which international organisations provides the safety and health rules and regulations for shipping?

Answer 1

All the same health and safety issues that you face on land in an industrial setting, plus some added nightmares that go along with being in a confined space for long periods of time.

The most important are:

fire safety (there's no fire department to call, and flammable chemicals are everywhere) Each crewmember is required to take basic firefighting and marine safety courses, and we drill on those skills for three hours a week minimum. Additional training is given to specialized firefighting teams as well as anyone who works in high-risk areas (I got extra electrical firefighting training).

chemical handling, storage and disposal (a spill in a confined space is a real nightmare) Any crewmember whose duties take him into contact with potentially hazardous chemicals must complete additional mandatory chemical handling safety training, and the crew drill on chemical spills regularely

man overboard : Scheduled man overboard drills are run weekly, and we are trained on all the rescue launching and recovery equipment, we are also trained on open water survival

hygiene (any virus or infection can spread very quickly because of all the shared spaces like showers, bunkrooms & messrooms. I knew on guy who lost four toes to athletes foot as a result of improper hygiene) We had to complete a basic hygiene training course (they even taught us how to wash our hands...)

food handling (can't have a bout of food poisoning cropping up in a storm when you're 5 days from the nearest hospital) All crewmen who work in food preparation and service areas receive additional training and are re-tested at regular intervals.

Regulations are governed by the SOLAS convention

http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents....

Compliance is monitored by the onboard safety officer and Medical Officer. Compliance is mandatory but it's also self regulating.

Rules are provided by the International Maritime Organization

http://www.imo.org/

hope this answers your questions a little, there's much more that I've likely forgotten but this is a good start.