MARITIME SAFETY & HEALTH STUDIES

NIOSH Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies 

The ocean environment presents many challenges to those who must protect seafaring workers’ safety and health. Some of these challenges are seen dockside at shipyards and marine terminals, while other hazards are unique to vessels operating in commercial fishing, freight transportation and passenger service. Workers in marine industries are at higher risk for work-related fatalities. The commercial fishing industry regularly has the highest annual fatality rate among all occupations in the U.S., and the water transportation industry has a fatality rate 11 times higher than the rate for all U.S. workers.

The NIOSH Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies (CMSHS) was formed in November 2015 and promotes safety and health for this high-risk worker population by coordinating research and intervention studies across NIOSH. CMSHS is a "virtual center" managed by the Western States Division, serving as a hub for intramural researchers to work together on various projects.  It also serves as a focus for building research partnerships with stakeholders throughout the U.S. and the world.

CMSHS builds on the success of the NIOSH Commercial Fishing Safety Research and Design Program.  In 2007, NIOSH expanded its fishing safety research program from a regional (Alaska) to a national program.  Since that time, the Commercial Fishing Safety Research and Design Program established a national surveillance program for all commercial fishing fatalities in order to identify high-risk fisheries and regional hazards.  Research activities have focused on the prevention of vessel disasters and falls overboard which are the leading causes of fatalities.  NIOSH research has influenced regional, national and international fishing safety polices, and NIOSH scientists are frequently approached by external partners for technical assistance.  The success of the Commercial Fishing Safety Research and Design Program serves as a base for the CMSHS to expand to other maritime subsectors such as marine transportation, offshore oil and gas, and law enforcement/emergency response and to strengthen NIOSH’s partnerships with the United States Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, OSHA, and our participation on OSHA’s Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (MACOSH).

CMSHS research will address all aspects of OSH including characterizing hazards, risk assessment, developing controls, and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.

Priority research and prevention programs will be determined by assessments based on the burden of the hazard, the need for the project, and its potential impact. Stakeholder input will be sought at throughout the research process.