Mapping of the information and communication flows from ship to shore when calling at the port of Gothenburg - Seafarers’ perspective on administrative and communicative duties

Abstract

Communication and information is a crucial part of conducting business operations in shipping. There is a constant interchange of communication and information between an operating vessel and the land based enterprises. The crews are getting smaller and the amount of administration and communication has increased with newer technology and legislation. This is a large workload, the administrative tasks and commutative responsibilities should not be overlooked. It is a well-known fact that this problem affects the on board personnel in terms of stress. Due to this elevated workload, it is sometimes required by the crew to prioritize tasks. As paperwork and administration tasks occasionally are time consuming, some crew members insists that more important matters are, for a time, set aside. The sheer amount of the communications and administration could also result in duplication of work. To achieve more efficient communication a mapping of the current communication and information flows to and from the ship to shore is in order, by researching what is sent, what information contains, what information is required, why it is sent. To improve these flows, an analysis is needed to discover redundant information and communication paths. This study is based on a scenario that consists an oil tanker or chemical tanker, transporting cargo to or from the port of Gothenburg, i.e. loading the cargo or discharging. Only the first link from the ship to shore and the information flow of commercial or legal variety is examined. Using a semi structured interview consisting of a fixed list with pre-determined questions in non-decisive order was conducted with Masters, asking about the procedures required to call the port of Gothenburg and their take on administrative work loads. The land organisations was also inquired to provide insight in to the calling process and thereby achieving triangulation. The result is a practical description of case describing the calling process and the Masters view of calling Gothenburg. They described the calling process to the port of Gothenburg to not being particularly burdensome but overall there is a constant pressure from the landside to perform and respond communicative wise. Other ports where mentioned as being significantly more burdensome.