World Suicide Prevention Day: Stop underreporting of suicides at sea

World Suicide Prevention Day: Stop underreporting of suicides at sea
The Editorial Team September 9, 2022 https://safety4sea.com/cm-world-suicide-prevention-day-stop-underreporti...

he COVID-19 pandemic redefined the industry’s approach to mental health with unconfirmed reports indicating an increase in the number of seafarers’ suicides. However, with the lack of a central database system for reporting suicides at sea, the potential problem cannot be framed and, consequently, addressed.

The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) recognizes World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10th every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness around the globe that suicide can be prevented. For shipping, suicide has been an increasingly concerning phenomenon over the last few years, amid growing discussions on mental health.

Seafarers are amongst the occupational groups with the highest risk of stress. Lack of training, uncaring work environment, exposure to violence and low job satisfaction are positive correlations for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in seafarers, according to a 2019 study by ITF Seafarer’s Trust and Yale University, while the nature of the job itself is characterized by separation from family and loved ones, isolation and increased workload. If the crew change crisis is added to the equation, the industry’s increased interest in crew mental health becomes understood.

Seafarers’ suicide: Where we stand
A recent survey by the UK Department of Transport and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) confirmed a general sense of connection between the mental health challenges faced by seafarers and suicide rates, but showed that mental health issues were poorly understood, both among seafarers and widely across the industry. The same research indicated suicide on ships as a traumatic experience for the crew, who often blamed themselves, further contributing to worse mental health.

Suicide statistics – What we know

An estimated 703,000 people a year take their life around the world
A compilation of 20 published reports covering the years 1960–2009, showed that 1,011 seafarer deaths out of 17,026 total seafarer deaths were by suicide – for a percentage of 5.9% of all deaths. They ranged from a low of 3.1% to a high of 18.0%.
A second compilation of 12 reports of deaths due to illness from 1992–2007 showed 590 seafarer deaths by suicide out of 4,573 deaths due to illness, or 13.1% of deaths. In these 12 studies the percentages ranged from a low of 5.7% to a high of 27.5%.

Suicide of seafarers: The issue of underreporting

Underreporting remains the major issue when discussing suicide at sea. Participants in the MCA survey described how there are a variety of non-standardized ways of recording incidences of suicide, which are rarely shared across the sector. There are several reasons why suicides at sea go underreported. First, there is a significant “uncertainty problem”, as shown by the MCA survey where participants questioned the viability of ever being sure a particular case is definitively suicide. In addition, this is driven by a desire to protect surviving family, both emotionally and financially.

The way forward

The first step to solving a problem is to identify the problem, but, to date, there has not been a single agreed international framework for recording suicides at sea. Under-reporting is a great problem, as some suicides at sea may be recorded erroneously as fatal accidents, ISWAN has warned and called ILO to consider steps in line with MLC, to ensure that all seafarer suicides are accurately identified. Last year, the AMSA asked for an amendment to the Maritime Labour Convention to make reporting of suicides mandatory.

However, as indicated also by the MCA report, the suicide of seafarers is not an isolated phenomenon but should be addressed holistically. The impact of suicide is not limited to a ship’s crew but has a wider impact on the industry’s attractiveness. Suicide can only be addressed through proactively dealing with the full scope of mental health challenges faced by seafarers.

By raising awareness, reducing the stigma around suicide, and encouraging well-informed action, we can reduce instances of suicide around the world. -WHO