A Prefatory Study on the Effects of Alcohol on Ship Manoeuvring, Navigational and Decision-Making Abilities of Navigators

Adverse effects of intoxicated driving have been well documented over the years, with clear conclusions. In addition, it is evident that the cognitive and neurological functions and reaction times deteriorate with the consumption of alcohol. Addressing the lack of literature on the subject, this paper focuses on studying the effects of alcohol on manoeuvring, navigational and decision-making ability in ship navigation. Ten participants - five cadets and five experienced navigation officers - volunteered and carried out a standard manoeuvre using a computer-controlled vessel simulator, under three different blood alcohol concentrations (0.00%, 0.05% and 0.08% BAC). Results from the simulations were used to assess the performance and the decision-making ability of participants under the influence of alcohol. In addition, the responses and behaviour of the simulated vessel when the navigators were intoxicated were analysed. Workload experienced by participants during the simulations were also assessed using the NASA Task Load Index. Findings of this preliminary study proved that the ability to make the correct decisions at the right time was drastically deteriorated when the blood alcohol concentration was increased.