BACKGROUND Most of the scientific publications from the maritime area are studies about the mortality and morbidity, while studies about the present hazards of potentially dangerous exposures are relatively rare. AIMS To describe the seafarers' assessments of the occupational safety on board, their exposure to chemicals and the use of personal protection equipment and to identify the areas fo...

Anomalies are the source of all scientific investigation and discovery. The mysterious disappearance of ships at sea has long been recognized as a standard type of anomaly. A new theory proposes that the catastrophic release of giant methane bubbles from the ocean floor can possibly account for the disappearance of some ships. The theory is both novel and plausible. However it has limited appli...

BACKGROUND Norovirus infection outbreaks (NoVOs) occur frequently in closed populations, such as cruise ship passengers. Environmental contamination is believed to play an important role in NoVO propagation. METHODS Trained health care professionals covertly evaluated the thoroughness of disinfection cleaning (TDC) of 6 standardized objects (toilet seat, flush handle or button, toilet stall i...

Ship collision is a major type of accident in waterway transportation, with considerable annual occurrence that always causes serious casualty. Among the evidences that can facilitate the investigation, AIS data recorded during the context of the collision are highly informative. This paper exploits the contextual AIS data in a coupled spatial–temporal perspective. With the discrete waypoints s...

The visible and near infrared bands of Landsat have limitations for detecting ships in turbid water. The potential of TM middle infrared bands for ship detection has so far not been investigated. This study analyzed the performance of the six Landsat TM visible and infrared bands for detecting dredging ships in the turbid waters of the Poyang Lake, China. A colour composite of principal compone...

Electrical power distribution on ships is similar to land based systems. Harmonic distortion is prevalent in both systems and equally detrimental in the modern era. It is important to understand and investigate the effect of harmonics on a ship’s Power Distribution System, when at sea, especially if the ship uses modern electronic variable speed drive (VSD) technology to control its electrical ...

Tidewater glacial fjords in Alaska provide habitat for some of the largest aggregations of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), with calved ice serving as platforms for birthing and nursing pups, molting, and resting. These fjords have also been popular destinations for tour ships for more than a century, with dramatic increases in vessel traffic since the 1980s. Seals on ice are known to flush into ...

INTRODUCTION Health and diseases on board ships may depend on water. Interventions to improve the quality of water may bring to significant benefits to health and water stores/supply and should be controlledto protect health. This paper has reviewed the main regulations for the control of water safety and qualityon board ships and presents some practical recommendations for keeping water health...

Due to the continuously increasing container trade, many terminals are presently operating at or close to capacity. An efficient terminal is one that facilitates the quick transshipment of containers to and from ships. In this sake, this paper addresses the ship assignments problem at a maritime container terminal, where ships are normally assigned to specific quay cranes until the work is fini...