Importance and applicability analysis of the health and safety measures taken against the coronavirus disease on merchant vessels

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has affected seafarers worldwide. This paper demonstrates the measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on merchant ships and evaluates them in terms of importance and applicability. Contamination reducing measures were determined through expert opinion and literature review. While their importance values were calculated using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process method in which the total integral value with optimism index was applied, the applicability levels were revealed using a five-point Likert scale. The imbalance in rest and working hours was clearly seen in the results. Immune system protective measures were the most critical measures; however, two of them have the lowest applicability value among all criteria. They were followed by the measures taken through training, the measures to be applied in case of personnel showing disease symptoms, and the temperature measurement. In terms of the ship locations and ship operations, maintaining physical distance on deck at the port was found more critical. Its applicability level was slightly below average. This paper is the first study in the literature in which the measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic on merchant ships were demonstrated in detail and evaluated with scientific methods in terms of importance and applicability. The research findings will help companies in the risk assessment process and contribute to the enhancement of the preparedness of the maritime industry for such situations by helping to protect the seafarers’ health and safety.