Ship Watchkeeping Practices in Support of Maritime Safety: Evidence from an Onboard Case Study

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-793-4_8How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Ship watchkeeping; Maritime safety; Situational awareness; Human performance; STCW Convention

Abstract

The shipping industry plays a vital role in supporting global trade, making maritime safety a fundamental aspect of ship operations. Effective ship watchkeeping is essential for maintaining safe navigation through continuous monitoring, effective communication, timely decision-making, and appropriate responses to potential hazards. This study aims to examine the implementation of ship watchkeeping practices and their role in supporting maritime safety through a case study aboard MT Layar Artha Wibawa. A descriptive qualitative approach with a case study design was employed. Data were collected during onboard practical training through direct observation of bridge watchkeeping activities, semi-structured interviews with watch officers and crew members, and documentation of logbooks, watch schedules, checklists, and other operational records. Data credibility was enhanced through source and method triangulation, while analysis followed the stages of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings reveal that ship watchkeeping was implemented through five interconnected stages: pre-watch preparation, watch handover, watchkeeping execution, emergency response, and watch completion. These practices were generally consistent with the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) 1978, emphasizing continuous navigational monitoring, effective communication, systematic documentation, and emergency preparedness. The study also found that physical readiness, situational awareness, communication quality, vigilance, and workload management significantly influenced the effectiveness of watchkeeping. Overall, the findings demonstrate that effective watchkeeping supports maritime safety by integrating procedural compliance, technical competence, and human performance. These findings provide practical implications for maritime education institutions, shipping companies, and other stakeholders in strengthening seafarers’ competencies and improving ship safety management practices.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Meti Kendek
AU  - Nenny Nenny
AU  - Albertha Lolo Tandung
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/16
TI  - Ship Watchkeeping Practices in Support of Maritime Safety: Evidence from an Onboard Case Study
BT  - Proceedings of the  International Conference on Advanced Maritime Interconnection (ICAMI 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 84
EP  - 93
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-793-4_8
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-793-4_8
ID  - Kendek2026
ER  -