These past couple of years were hard on everyone as we all experienced the unfolding of a pandemic
and its consequences. However, some of the effects were particularly toughers for seafarers, given that
most of them had to be stranded at sea for months, unable to leave their vessels, see their families and
still having to perform demanding physical work for long hours.
This in turn had a noticeable effect on seafarer’s mental health conditions. According to recent studies, a
high majority of seafarers suffer from depression and anxiety, amongst other mental disorders.
That is why it is important to keep the conversation about seafarers’ mental health going and to shed
light on the factors that influence it, understand the ways in which crew members’ mental health
problems manifest, and lastly to find ways to tackle and improve the situation for everyone on board.
There are two kinds of factors that play a role when it comes to seafarers’ mental health, namely,
individual and environment-related factors.
For example, the stress of being away from home with limited access to the internet, and thus, limited
communication with family and friends is one of the major individual factors that directly affect crew
members’ mental health. Another factor that is intimately related to crew members’ mental health is
their perceived degree of job satisfaction. Amongst the factors that influence the degree of job
satisfaction, we could list the following: wages and financial security, workload and free time, satisfaction
with the employer and management style, career advancement opportunities and safety on board.
It is important to note here that the distinction between the individual and environment-related factors
is not as clear-cut as it seems to be, as the two are interdependent and equally affect the crew members’
mental health.
Mainly, and as the name suggests, the environment-related factors have to do with the working
conditions on and off board. The level of experience and qualification of the crew members have a direct
effect on the individual mental load that a seafarer experiences. For instance, when the crew has many
years of experience and has the appropriate and adequate level of training that allows them to deal with
challenges on board, each seafarer will likely feel like the individual mental load is more manageable as
they know that they can rely on their team members should anything go wrong. In the grander scheme
of things, this will also affect the group’s work dynamics and their interrelations.
So, it goes without saying that work relations among crew members impact individuals’ mental health.
Say, if the captain has a bossy attitude and does not appreciate his crew or the efforts they put in, crew
members will most likely feel frustrated which will create a stressful environment for everyone on board.
Generally, the quality of the hierarchical communication between the captain, cadets, white and blue
collar workers impacts the clarity and effectiveness of the tasks, and in turn, is crucial to ensure the
safety of navigation and shipping. Crew members should also be aware of the many forms of
discrimination, be it related to their ethnic and religious background, or be it taking the form of bullying.
Such a work environment is likely to push seafarers to feel down or depressed when on board, especially
when voyages are long and crew members mostly rely on one another for social contact, given that they
have limited contact with family and friends. However, being aware of the forms of dirscrimination is not
enough. Crew members must also have a safe space to report instances of discrimination or harassment
as this directly correlates with the level of mental stress one feels. And, naturally, discrimination of any
kind will upset the team cohesion, a necessary element for a healthy workflow aboard a vessel.
Another environment-related factor that affects seafarers’ mental health is the voyage duration. At MN
Shipping, for example, some voyages last from 6 to 9 months. And spending that amount of time in a
confined space aboard a ship can cause the crew to feel emotionally and physically strained. Moreover,
the dangers of being at sea can also add to the crew’s stress levels. In certain cases, the weather
conditions can make it extremely difficult for the crew to deal with their daily tasks, as it has been
proven that the degree of visibility and natural light crew members are exposed to, have both physical
and emotional effects. During periods of low visibility and bad weather conditions, the body gets tired
more easily which can cause crew members to feel demotivated.
In fact, the stress of the job is not to be taken lightly because working on board is physically demanding.
During a port stay for example, crew members are expected to handle loading and unloading operations,
work as watch keepers for long hours, repair and maintain the engines, refuel the ship, intake provisions,
and follow up with contractors and customers. The psycho-social stress that is associated with these
tasks can be very jarring. In addition to that, while some crew members take the opportunity to visit
cities and have fun activities during a port stay, other crew members may not be allowed to leave the
vessel because of their nationality and the visa requirements of each destination. This may cause them
to feel discriminated against and push them to isolate.
One thing most people do not take into consideration when imagining what life looks like for seafarers
on board is the ship noise and vibration which affect the quality of rest periods, which are necessary for
a job that is physically and emotionally demanding. Bad quality rest can indeed leave seafarers drained,
tired and with low focus levels, affecting the safety of operations and crew members on board.
For that reason, it is of utmost importance that the management promotes the crew’s mental mental
health by providing on-boarding training that improves seafarers’ resilience in order to help them cope
with the job demand and the environment in general. Training should also focus on effective and healthy
communication between the different crew members. On another note, when it comes to daily life on
board, ship managers should promote health behaviors such as healthy diet consumption and physical
exercise, as well as interactive recreational activities that help the crew members bond. When it comes
to enhancing seafarers’ motivation levels, two elements come into play: effort-reward balance and
work-rest balance. The effort-reward balance does not necessarily need to be financial but could also be
career-related. In addition to that, seafarers should have access to confidential counseling services to
help them cope with the stress of the job.