Lots of different factors can affect your BAC (or how you personally react to booze), not just how much you chuck down your neck. It can vary depending on your size and weight, if you’re male or female, if you’re drinking quickly or pacing yourself, if you’ve eaten (and even what you’ve eaten – carb load if you’re boozing please! You’ll thank me later and yes, I speak from experience I’ll admit that), if you’re tired, what you’re drinking (e.g. spirits in Spanish measures – uh oh, versus a half pint of shandy), your hormones (ladies – due on? You’ll get more drunk than usual, and no I don’t know why), how hydrated you are… and so on.
MCA’s MGN 448 states the alcohol blood limits under STCW regulation VIII/1 for “professional staff on duty”. Now, that’s
the effects of drugs/alcohol on survival at sea. Did you know that alcohol speeds up the rate of body cooling? This means you’re at increased risk of hypothermia. So if you fall overboard and it’s not the Med in July, you could be in deep trouble in a matter of moments. According to the MCA, there is “clear scientific evidence that even quite moderate alcohol consumption (not sure any yacht crew (or in my case crew agents) are guilty of moderate alcohol consumption but still) normally leads to a reduction in blood sugar” which can seriously affect the way your body reacts to the cold. And would you believe it, shivering lowers your sugar further. If you’ve got guests on board boozing it up then keep an eagle eye on them too – if you’re under the influence from the night before and someone goes over, well
It’s one thing if your duties for the day happen to be a bit of paperwork or cleaning, but if it’s driving the yacht, or being responsible for others safety then it’s not actually all that funny is it?
not just the captain of the vessel, it includes “a professional seaman in a ship while on duty” which would be the whole crew… not only that, it also applies to “professional staff off duty”. Who’s that? Well probably you: “If in the event of an emergency he would or might be required by the nature or terms of his engagement to take action to protect the safety of passengers”. So if you have guests on board, you can’t be drinking.
The document sets the blood limit at 50mg in 100ml of blood. That’s 0.5 BAC which is LOWER than the drink driving limit in the UK. Depending on all of the above factors (and a few others not listed), even after one drink you could be over the limit. Point to note is this only applies to red ensign vessels or if you’re cruising in UK Waters. If you’re neither, then best consult your own flag states rules but they’re usually pretty similar. And not forgetting, some yachts operate as completely dry yachts. So no booze on board. Ever. Whether it’s in your hand or in your belly.
Ok so we all know we shouldn’t be boozing and working simultaneously. But let’s throw a bit more info into the mix. Check out MGN 193 by the MCA, which deals with
it’s on you to react and your reaction time could be the difference between saving a soul, or not.
If you’re really interested in learning more, then feel free to check out the MCA’s website under
www.gov.uk, search for MGNs, or Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers, also you can find a great deal on the International Maritime Organization’s pages
www.imo.org. Alcohol is a big topic, you can find sources under every country’s Maritime Authority legislation too, detailing the fines and penalties for being drunk and in charge of a vessel.
So there’s the facts, what about Anonymous’s situation? What should they do? My community banded together to give them proper advice: the best thing to do firstly is preserve your safety. That might mean quitting and getting off the yacht. The official route is to report this – now if it weren’t the captain involved then they would be your first point of contact here, but obviously in this case that’s not going to work.
So if you can, report it to the owner. If there’s a management company, report it to them or your DPA. You could report it to the flag
state too. One person suggested carrying out an inventory and taking photos of the stock which is being pilfered so you have proof. A chief officer pointed out that when the problems start at the top, the captain is effectively nurturing a certain culture on board. She recommended addressing the issue with other crew members before you leave, to make sure they’re aware of how wrong this is. I pointed out in my video that we as seniors of the industry have a duty of care to look after those who are more junior or inexperienced, so in that regard we should report this behaviour even when it’s very hard to do so.
And if you’re not sure you should, speak to someone about it first. They don’t have to be in the industry, I’d say even better if they’re not so you’ll get a completely unbiased view and opinion. If only we could be a bit more responsible for ourselves, our fellow crew, and the property we’re working on things might be a bit better for everyone. Or else we’ll all have to be breathalysed before work.
That’s given us all a bit to think about. We’re not saying all drinking is bad, obviously it’s not – it’s just important that we know when we can let loose and when we can’t. So this is Erica Lay, of the Fun Police, signing off, for a glass of wine (because it’s not a school night, I’m not in charge of any superyachts, and I can).
WHERE CAN I TURN FOR SUPPORT?
NAUTILUS INTERNATIONAL
www.nautilusint.org
SEA FARER HELP
www.Seafarerhelp.org ISWAN
www.seafarerswelfare.org SAILORS SOCIETY
https://www.sailors-society.org/
And don’t forget to reach out to a close friend or family member if you’re struggling.
ONBOARD | WINTER 2024 | 37
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