ILO urged to make ‘wellness training’ mandatory for seafarers

ILO urged to make ‘wellness training’ mandatory for seafarers
RAFFY AYENG June 05, 2019 https://www.manilatimes.net/ilo-urged-to-make-wellness-training-mandator...

A prominent international seafarers group has recently called on the International Labor Organization (ILO) to include wellness training as minimum requirement for seafarers working on board a ship, as depression causes many suicides at sea.

In a campaign dubbed “Not on my Watch,” the Sailors Society pointed out that 1.6 million seafarers are relied upon to transport 90 percent of global goods on a daily basis via ships, and as such, are put at risk due to violent storms, piracy and isolation for a long period of time.

Sandra Welch, Sailors’ Society’s deputy chief executive officer, explained that stress due to work pressures and lack of rest, including long hours working shifts, could have a terrible impact on seafarers’ mental health — it could worsen depression.

She said Sailors’ Society conducted a survey on seafarers’ mental health with Yale University and the results highlighted that more than a quarter of seafarers show signs of depression.

Welch also noted that a previous study from the International Maritime Health journal showed that 5.9 percent of deaths at sea are attributable to suicide and that this increases dramatically if probable suicides — seafarers going missing at sea under suspicious circumstances — are taken into account.

She further relayed that to put this into context, less than 1 percent of deaths in the United Kingdom in 2017 were recorded as suicide.

“These are shockingly high rates — and one suicide is one too many. The fact that six times as many deaths at sea are attributable to suicide highlights how urgent an issue mental health at sea is.

That is why we are launching our ‘Not on My Watch’ campaign and asking the ILO to make wellness training a minimum requirement for seafarers to work on board a ship.” Welch said.

The Maritime Labor Convention is an ILO convention that regulates living and working conditions for seafarers. It has been ratified by 92 member states, representing more than 91 percent of the world merchant shipping fleet.

Aditya Giri, director of Humans at Sea and a former seafarer, has thrown his support behind the campaign by being the first person to sign the petition.

Aditya has personal experience of the devastating impact of depression at sea. He was sailing in the Atlantic Ocean when one of his crewmates jumped off the ship to his death. The crew, who had no idea their friend was depressed, searched everywhere for him and were devastated to find a suicide note in his cabin.

“I was in denial, disheartened at my core and shocked, to accept that a person who was making jokes and laughing with us a few hours earlier would take such a step. I fell into depression myself, burdened with one remorseful thought that clouded my mind at all times: Could I have saved his life?” Aditya narrated.

He said that “this experience has helped him realize the importance of sharing your problems and asking your shipmates if they are facing any issues themselves and a simple acknowledgement could save someone’s life.”

Through its Wellness at Sea coaching program and Crisis Response Network, Sailors’ Society is committed to improving the wellbeing of seafarers.

Welch said, “Seafarers tell us that wellness training makes them more confident to handle the pressures of life at sea. If more seafarers are equipped with basic wellness training, they will be empowered to identify the signs of depression and know how to get help.”

“We believe this will have a significant impact on seafarers’ mental health and reduce the number of suicides at sea,” Welch ended.