Michelle will draw upon her experience as an engineer, researcher, practitioner and leader to apply her knowledge and skills gained throughout her career into maritime safety and seafarer welfare. This presentation will provide some insight into the work she has done and is doing to continue to contribute to maritime safety and seafarer welfare. A particular focus will be the development of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO), revised Guidelines on Fatigue (MSC 1598) which Michelle was heavily involved in and were approved in January 2019. This revision was by no means a straightforward and easy task but involved a multi-year process with plenty of discussions, debate and effort that went into ensuring that the final product contained relevant material for companies (operators), seafarers and the industry alike.

During this time Michelle was conducting a series of research projects to support the development of these guideline. In particular she will present an Australian Linkage Grant collaborative study conducted in Australia focusing on safety culture in the maritime domain. Data from this study has been used recently to support another research initiative focusing on seafarer welfare and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on seafarer mental health.

Michelle will discuss current initiatives at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority supporting seafarer welfare including the Australian Seafarer Welfare Council, the publications of the Maritime Labour Convention annual reports and also a recent proposal to make amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention to support the development and collation of a global database on fatalities at sea. This proposal is gaining international attention and is seen an important initiative in better understanding seafarer mental health issues at sea.