Seafarers’ mental health

Seafarers’ mental health
Carlos C. Salinas May 12, 2021 https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/05/12/business/maritime-business/seafar...

We celebrate National Mental Health Week every second week of October pursuant to Proclamation No. 452, signed by former President Fidel V. Ramos in 1994. This coincides with the observance of World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10.

In the U.S., however, May 2021 was proclaimed National Mental Health Awareness Month by U.S. President Joseph R. Biden Jr., taking into account “the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis [that] has impacted the mental health of millions of Americans.”

On the other hand, Mental Health Awareness Week in the U.K. takes place from May 10 to 16 this year.
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Accordingly, the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), the U.K.-based international society for marine professionals, will be holding the 1st Global Conference for Seafarer Mental Health and Wellbeing on May 25 & 26, 2021. It will be a gathering of key stakeholders from across the maritime sector to discuss the issue and propose solutions to better support the needs of seafarers around the world.

Seafarers’ mental health condition has been the subject of studies in recent years. In 2019 such a study was conducted by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), a UK-based global organization for health and safety professionals. Seeking to provide new insight into the issue of seafarers’ mental health, this research aimed to find out “whether mental ill-health among seafarers is considered to be a significant problem by key stakeholders; what factors seafarers identify as supporting or undermining mental health and wellbeing onboard cargo ships; and what policies and practices could be implemented by ship operators to provide better support for seafarers’ mental health and wellbeing.”

What made the study different from those conducted earlier was that it was focused on what seafarers themselves consider to be good for their happiness and wellbeing.

Results indicated that seafarers’ mental health and wellbeing are seen as important by maritime charities, employer associations, and trade unions. The research also revealed that seafarers and some employers favor proactive measures such as enhanced communication and recreational facilities, food, shore-leave, work to leave ratios,
furnishings, officer training and the provision of counseling services, employment terms and conditions, and deterrents to bullying and harassment, as essential to improved mental health and wellbeing on board. These measures are likely to be more effective than reactive strategies that may be currently provided.

The study also revealed that “significantly more seafarers report being happy or very happy at home than report being happy or very happy on board.” Further, 55 percent of employer respondents disclosed that they had not introduced any policies or practices to address seafarers’ mental health in the last ten years.

In the same year, a study by Yale University which was commissioned by the ITF Seafarers’
Trust revealed “dangerously high levels of mental stress among seafarers.”

This was even before the pandemic that upended our lives in the most profound and radical ways. It also paralyzed many industries, including the shipping industry. In a 2020 industry-wide survey on seafarer wellbeing, conducted by Lloyd’s Register, 54 percent of seafarers felt that no assistance is being extended to help them manage stress and fatigue.

The research also highlighted the significant crew-change crisis impacting both seafarers and their families during the pandemic year.

Captain Panos Stavrakakis, the co-chair of the 1st Global Conference for Seafarer Mental Health and Wellbeing, stated that the “The two-day conference program will look at practical approaches and highlight solutions that can be implemented to tackle ongoing issues. It’s an incredibly important area and one that has not been properly addressed by the industry, until now. Together we need to raise awareness, overcome stigma and understand the effects of working at sea.”

The seafarers’ life is challenging enough under ordinary circumstances. It has become more so under the conditions brought on by the pandemic. It becomes even more difficult because of the stigma attached to mental illness, which engenders the fear that talking about it and seeking help might result in job loss.

Seafarers practically run the global economy. Ninety percent of the world’s food, fuel, raw material, and manufactured goods are brought to their destination by sea. Nearly all things sold worldwide are transported through ships, which need skilled seafarers to operate, maintain and repair. That process will come to a standstill if seafarers will stop working.

With this conference, we start telling our seafarers that they don’t have to struggle in silence, in shame. Even Prince Harry revealed that in his experience, “once you start talking about [grappling with mental health], you realize that actually, you’re part of quite a big club.” That alone is a big step forward toward healing.

We hope this conference will only be the first of such conferences, where the things mental health needs are abundant, according to Glenn Close: “more sunlight, more candor, more unashamed conversation.”