News Release

Car carrying vessels' fast turnaround takes its toll on the crew

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Economic & Social Research Council

Millions of vehicles produced each year are transported by purpose-built car carrying ships that can be turned around quickly. Research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council confirms that as a consequence of technical, infrastructure and production changes in the industry, crew members have experienced a decline in work/life balance. Shore leave for many may amount to having time for a telephone call home at the port of destination only - before needing to set sail again.

The project, conducted by Professor Theo Nichols and Doctor Erol Kahveci, School of Social Sciences, University of Cardiff, focused on the maritime chain between the manufacturer and the consumer. It examined recent changes in the car carrying industry and the implications for operations and crew members.

"Today, car carriers can take about 7,000 cars at a time on up to 13 decks. These giant vessels, that are usually 'flagged out', tower out of the water and have roll on, roll off handling systems that really speed things up," said Professor Theo Nichols. "Large capacity, quick turnaround and low manning levels may help keep costs down for the operators, but the fast pace has led to a decline in seafarers' lives. Crew members, many of whom come from low wage countries, face fatigue, social isolation, long periods at sea and very little free time on shore."

The research makes clear that the sector has been driven by the needs of the car manufacturers. Initially, the car carrying industry was heavily based on the export of cars from Japan, but in the last two decades, Japan has transplanted manufacturing to other countries. In addition, many car manufacturers produce different models for their range in different countries, and there has been a search for sources of cheap labour. All these factors have led to an expansion in the sea routes taken by car carrying vessels.

Car manufacturers insist on strict adherence to delivery times and car carrier companies have been driven to reduce their turnaround times. The rise of 'just-in-time' and lean production methods in car manufacturing have had adverse consequences for seafarers onboard car carriers whose position rates poorly in some respects with those onboard other types of vessel.

Crews from low wage countries take up the jobs because of limited employment opportunities at home, but they are also aware of the disadvantages of the work - and sometimes claim racial discrimination on board as well.

"In future, the industry's likely to make more use of hub ports for long haul and related feeder services," said Professor Theo Nichols. "This means crews employed on long haul routes will experience even shorter shore leave and those on the feeder services will face ever more frantic port schedules."

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Dr Erol Kahveci on 029 2087 6238 or Email: kahvecie@cardiff.ac.uk
Or Professor Theo Nichols on 029 2087 6326 or Email: nicholst@cf.ac.uk
Or Lance Cole, Lesley Lilley or Becky Gammon at ESRC, on 01793 413032/ 413119/413122

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The research report 'Work, Organisation and Technology in the Maritime Car Carrier Industry' was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Professor Theo Nichols and Doctor Erol Kahveci are at the School of Social Sciences, Glamorgan Building, University of Cardiff, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WT.

2. A range of methods were deployed in the project, such as: a survey of over 600 seafarers; on-board observation in six different companies, in six world wide regions and on vessels of different age/sophistication; interviews with shipping industry personnel; and the completion of seafarers diaries. Analysis included a comparison of the labour conditions of seafarers with manufacturing car workers and others

3. The ESRC is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It provides independent, high-quality, relevant research to business, the public sector and Government. The ESRC invests more than £93million every year in social science and at any time is supporting some 2,000 researchers in academic institutions and research policy institutes. It also funds postgraduate training within the social sciences to nurture the researchers of tomorrow. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk

4. ESRC Society Today offers free access to a broad range of social science research and presents it in a way that makes it easy to navigate and saves users valuable time. As well as bringing together all ESRC-funded research (formerly accessible via the Regard website) and key online resources such as the Social Science Information Gateway and the UK Data Archive, non-ESRC resources are included, for example the Office for National Statistics. The portal provides access to early findings and research summaries, as well as full texts and original datasets through integrated search facilities. More at http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk

5. The ESRC confirms the quality of its funded research by evaluating research projects through a process of peer review. Sometimes the ESRC publishes research before this process is finished so that new findings can immediately inform business, Government, media and other organisations. This research is waiting for final comments from academic peers.

PR36/05


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