Drug Abuse at Sea:

Methods of drug testing

The effectiveness of a drug screening and testing program depends entirely upon its deterrent value. In other words it depends on whether the crew members believe that drug users will be detected or whether they believe that the system can be beaten. For example if seafarers believe that once a ship has been tested they are safe for six months, its effectiveness is greatly diminished.

There are a number of different methods of drug and alcohol testing. These include:

Pre-employment
Routine medical
Reasonable cause
Post incident
Random

Each has advantages and disadvantages. We recommend that more than one method of testing is utilised and that every programme should, if possible, include random testing.

Type	Advantages	Disadvantages
Pre- employment	Establishes company's attitude to drugs and alchohol Deters drug users joining company Does not require changes to terms and conditions of employment Helps to introduce concept of testing to other employees	Result is only valid for the day of the test No deterrent factor for future use May create blacklist of applicants in some sectorsNeeds record-keeping to avoid people re-applying for the same job May be prohibited by local employment law
Routine Medicals	Easy to administer	Advance notice of dates means alchohol/illegal drug use can be adjusted to avoid detection
Post accident/post incident	Indicates whether drugs or alchohol might have contributed to incident Demonstrates that drugs/alchohol did not contribute to incident which brings PR benefits	If drugs/alchohol are found this may mean that other contributory factors are ignored If drug or alchohol related this is identified after the event, i.e. too late
Reasonable cause, i.e. behavioural indicators	May confirm suspicion of drug/alchohol consumption contributing to impairment and/or deteriorating work performance If negative, may direct attention to some medical condition or other cause	Perception of victamisation. Is not seen to apply equally to all crew, eg. who tests the Master? If behaviour is drugs or alchohol related then problem use has already developed
Unannounced random selection	Unpredictable Constant possibility of selection means constant threat of detection Impartial selection method can be inspected by crew representatives Detterent effect encourages people to recognise problem use at an earlier stage Nil or below average positive rate enhances company's image Demonstrates company's pro-active approach to safety	Risk that administrative convenience can lead to bias in selection process Need to closely define and monitor reasons for 'unavailibility' for test