Context matters: weaknesses in port State control enforcement of work/rest hours regulations

The decades of research showing the prevalence of seafarers’ non-compliance with work/rest hours regulations suggest ineffective compliance monitoring and enforcement. This 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 prioritising technical issues over human factors-related issues such as fatigue and work/rest hours. Consequently, considering the impacts of PSC officers’ working context, enhancing initial inspections, implementing tamper-proof recording systems, strengthening inspection teams, and updating guidelines are possible options to enforce work/rest hours regulations.