RISCOS EM ALTO MAR: concepções e práticas sobre segurança no trabalhado offshore RISK IN DEEP SEA: perceptions and practices regarding safety in offshore work

This article examines the safety culture of a small maritime shipping company that provides services to a large offshore oil corporation. The data presented here were collected combining several investigation techniques. In the studied case, although the implementation of safety standards is designed to protect workers, the environment and the company assets, safety procedures make little sense for crew members, as they remain for long periods at sea, offshore, where in their own perceptions, the main risk is nature itself not the work process. From the perspective of the sailors, the potential risk lies in their situation of sea isolation and boat confinement that this offshore work requires. Therefore, the proposed safety work guidelines should include strategies to minimize physical and psychological outcomes attributed to their long period of isolation and confinement in the sea.