Stepping up: the need for Proactive Employer Investment in Safeguarding Seafarers’ Mental Health and Wellbeing

ABSTRACT

In recent years mental health has been identified as a significant issue for the global workforce. In the shipping industry charities and insurance companies have raised concerns about seafarers’ mental health and wellbeing and have suggested a range of largely reactive and behaviour-based remedies and risk mitigation strategies. This paper contributes new data to the existing debates around seafarers’ welfare and mental health by exploring stakeholder and employer attitudes and approaches to the mental health and wellbeing of seafarers working aboard deep-sea cargo vessels, alongside the views and perceptions of active seafarers themselves. Unusually, the central focus is on what seafarers themselves consider to be supportive of their own happiness and wellbeing. Drawing on these two major sources of data the paper recommends a range of practical steps which should be taken by employers to mitigate seafarers’ exposure to a variety of risk factors associated with unhappiness and poor mental health. These recommendations relate to the shipboard provision of communication facilities, food, recreational facilities, shore-leave, work to leave ratios, bullying and harassment, furnishings, officer training and the provision of counselling services.

KEYWORDS:

• Seafarers
• shipping
• mental health
• wellbeing
• work
• isolation

General recommendations

In response to the findings from the study we advance the following recommendations.

1) Companies/stakeholders should take steps to address the significant difference found between the happiness levels of seafarers when they are on board and when they are at home.

2) Companies and stakeholders should be aware of the evidence indicating that recent-onset psychological disorders are increasing among serving seafarers.

3) Companies and stakeholders should recognise the importance of good mental health and wellbeing in the cargo shipping industry.

4) Companies and stakeholders should reconfigure their efforts to support mental health and wellbeing on board in order to proactively reduce the incidence of unhappiness and of recent-onset anxiety and depression among seafarers.

Recommendations for specific measures

1) Free and unlimited internet should be made available to all seafarers on board all cargo vessels.

2) In recognition of the differences between individuals, a varied menu of interactive recreational activities (swimming, basketball etc.) should be available to seafarers on board.

3) In recognition of the differences between individuals, a varied menu of solitary recreational activities should be available to seafarers on board.

4) Comfortable mattresses and furnishings within cabins should be prioritised to facilitate rest and sleep.

5) Shore-leave should be provided at every opportunity and for all ranks.

6) Varied, good-quality food should be provided on board and a feeding rate of at least US$11.00 per person should be allocated to each vessel.

7) Self-help guidance on improving mental resilience should be provided to all seafarers.

8) Contracts should balance work and leave time for all ranks in a ratio not worse than 2:1 and with an upper limit of a maximum of six months on board.

9) Anti-bullying and harassment policies should be introduced and enforced.

10) Officers should receive training in creating a positive atmosphere on board, including via the provision of positive feedback on work, when appropriate, and respectful interactions with subordinates.

11) Confidential counselling services should be made available to seafarers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The full results from the study can be found at https://iosh.com/media/6306/seafarers-mental-health-wellbeing-full-report.pdf

2. Notably catering.

3. Notably ratings.

4. In this instance stakeholders incorporates employers, welfare organisations, P&I Clubs.

5. Insurance providers

6. NB data were not collected sequentially by the research team and there was no requirement to terminate data collection as a result of time constraints. The project was adequately resourced and managed, allowing for the completion of all elements of the data collection as per the original research design and plan.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health [grant number RES26028]¹.