GAO: Navy must manage sailor fatigue issues, reduce crew shortfalls

May 28 (UPI) -- Despite a 2017 order for managing fatigue after several ship collisions, few Navy officers get adequate sleep, a Government Accountability Office report says.

The 81-page report on Navy readiness was released on Thursday, and notes that only 14 percent of Navy officers get enough sleep.

It also faults the Navy for assigning fewer crew members to ships than workloads require, not providing adequate time for training and inconsistently implementing a fatigue management policy recommending that officers receive at least seven hours of sleep per day during deployments.

Sixty-seven percent of crew members get five or fewer hours of sleep per day, the report says, adding that "sailor effectiveness declines after prolonged periods without sleep, equating to impairment levels comparable to intoxication."

The report refers to recommendations issued by the Navy after two ship collisions in 2017.

Although the Navy found that sailor overwork, fatigue and training deficiencies were contributing factors in the accidents, and took steps to address the issues, it is "limited by a lack of quality information on sailor fatigue and the factors that cause lack of sleep."

"Without this information, the Navy cannot effectively manage fatigue to ensure crews operate ships safely," the report says.

It adds that tracking of the full extent of shortfalls in crew personnel, which nearly doubled from 8 percent in October 2016 to 15 percent by September 2020, was not begun until February 2021.

The Navy is "not accurately communicating to internal decision makers the number of personnel it will need as the fleet grows, which may prevent it from effectively mitigating current crewing shortfalls," the report says.

The GAO offered eight recommendations, all involving revisions of guidance regarding obtaining relevant data and changes in crew requirements aboard ships.