TRANSPORT union RMT called for urgent reform to seafarers’ working conditions today after a new report revealed a lack of access to shore leave across the shipping industry.

The research, by the World Maritime University and the International Transport Federation Seafarers Trust, surveyed 6,000 seafarers working on bulk carriers, car carriers, container ships, passenger ferries, offshore vessels and cruise ships.

It found that 26 per cent got no shore leave at all, while nearly 70 per cent reported either not going ashore or going only one or three times during an entire contract.

The average contract normally lasts over six months.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “These failures are happening across the board — from deep sea shipping to short sea ferries and offshore energy.

“We know fatigue is being covered up by widespread misreporting of hours of work and rest. 

“Shore leave is vital for physical and mental health. It is not an optional extra.

“The government’s Seafarers Charter in the ferry sector is a positive first step. 

“But it must become a template for raising standards across the global industry — for every seafarer, whatever their nationality, and wherever flag the ship sails under.”