POOR standards of lookout and fatigue among ships' officers on watch duties have contributed to dozens of collisions around the UK coastline, according to a report today.

A study of 65 collisions revealed a late detection or failure to detect small vessels due to lookout problems.

Minimal manning with only two officers on watchkeeping duties had also been found, the report from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said.

It called for a tightening of watchkeeping and lookout procedures.

The study was set up after the sinking of the German-owned cargo ship Jambo which was carrying 3,300 tonnes and which went down after striking rocks in Wester Ross on the west coast of Scotland in June last year.

An MAIB report last December said a chief officer had fallen asleep while alone on the bridge and that a seaman assigned to the watch had been absent from the bridge for at least an hour before the vessel got into difficulties.

The report today said the Jambo incident was "the latest in a series of remarkably similar accidents, the common features of which included fatigued officers, one-man bridge operation at night, missed course alterations and no watch alarms".

The MAIB added that the study had confirmed "that minimal manning, consisting of a master and a chief officer as the only two watchkeeping officers on vessels operating around the UK coastline, leads to watchkeeper fatigue and the inability of the master to fulfil his duties, which, in turn, frequently lead to accidents".

The report went on: "It (the study) has also found that standards of lookout in general are poor, and late detection or failure to detect small vessels is a factor in many collisions."

The study concluded that the current regulations in respect of safe manning, hours of work and lookout were not effective.

The MAIB's recommendations were directed at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency with a view to getting the International Maritime Organisation to review the regulations.

One thing the MAIB recommended was that all merchant vessels over 500 gross tonnes should have a minimum of a master (skipper) plus two bridge watchkeeping officers.

The MAIB also called for tighter regulations on the posting of lookouts on the bridge of vessels.