Safety in Shipping: Investigating Safety Climate in Norwegian Maritime Workers

Abstract

Working at sea places individuals in an inherently dangerous environment for extended periods, exposing them to unique risks not found in land-based industries. Safety-critical socio-technical systems demand an inherent organizational safety culture for reliable and safe operations. Safety climate acts as a mediating factor between the broader organizational climate and safety behavior of individuals and teams. This paper investigates safety climate of individuals working at sea. Two hundred persons (47.3 yrs ±12.9; 175 males, 25 females) working as seafarers (n=132) and onboard service staff (n=68) with Norwegian maritime companies completed an online safety climate questionnaire. Results indicate that maritime workers generally have lower perceptions of safety within their organizations in comparison to other industries. Furthermore, certified seafarers have lower perceptions of safety then onboard service staff, who have lower restrictions to working at sea, and generally less maritime safety education and training.