Crew welfare encompasses all aspects of ensuring the health, safety, and overall well-being of crew members working aboard ships, as agreed by all speakers during a panel discussion at the 2024 Crew Welfare Week.
The panel discussion was moderated by Capt. Hari Subramaniam, Regional Head of Business Relations at The Shipowners’ Club, and included the following participants: Erik Green, CEO and Partner at Green-Jakobsen; Capt. Konstantinos G. Karavasilis, Regional Director of Loss Prevention at the UK P&I Club; Kostas Katsoulieris, P&I Claims Director for Greece at NorthStandard; Nikolaos Koletsis, Senior Policy Officer for Maritime Transport at the European Transport Workers’ Federation; and Isabelle Rickmers, Founder and CEO of TURTLE GmbH.
An overview of current challenges
Starting the discussion, Nikolaos Koletsis highlighted the impact of physical and mental health crises on seafarers, particularly in the post-Covid era. “This crisis is directly linked to fatigue, as seafarers are legally allowed to work very extensive schedules with insufficient rest. It also coincides with an increase in bullying and harassment incidents, which further deteriorates mental health onboard,” he noted.
Considering these challenges, the industry should also address technological advancements, the need to reskill and upskill the existing crew, and the issue of shore leave access for all.
There is definitely more awareness of crew welfare now. I think there is currently more awareness of wellbeing in general as a society, not just in shipping. Unfortunately, as an industry, we are behind and usually follow the rest of society,
…Kostas Katsoulieris said.
Although the Happiness Index by the Mission to Seafarers has shown improvement, there are still record-high calls to ISWAN’s hotlines. This indicates that while seafarers appear to be happier, issues such as bullying and harassment, crew retention, and the role of women seafarers onboard remain concerns. Additionally, geopolitical challenges, increased vetting regulations like SIRE 2.0, and the criminalization of seafarers have detrimental effects on the industry, Katsoulieris added.
“There is a lot of pressure on seafarers, and I think we are not providing them with the best conditions. But there are ways to address this,” commented Erik Green. He cited his company’s focus on psychological safety to make people feel safe onboard, highlighting that…
psychological safety is something that you can monitor.
At this point, Capt. Hari Subramaniam referred to the stigma that makes people reluctant to express their concerns, which affects their mental health. He suggested that encouragement from shore organizations would help significantly.
Transitioning to a new era
We are shifting our focus from viewing crew as a cost to seeing them as a resource. This brings many opportunities but also some downsides
Isabelle Rickmers commented, considering the new approach to training.
Every challenge creates an opportunity, agreed Capt. Hari Subramaniam, who acknowledged that many changes are happening. At least crew wellbeing is no longer a taboo subject but has come to the forefront.
Offering a different perspective, Capt. Konstantinos Karavasilis disagreed that there is significant change. “There are many positives, but still the majority of companies view crew welfare as a cost center rather than a resource center,” he said, explaining that many organizations focus mainly on profit rather than their people.
He emphasized the need for security provisions for crew members, such as pension plans, medical health coverage, and health insurance for their families, similar to what is provided for shore-based employees.
Erik Green added that besides psychological safety, there needs to be a focus on collective intelligence, work structure, leadership, and other factors that can improve onboard conditions and make people feel valued.
It’s about identifying areas we need to focus on in the future to create a catalytic mechanism that will move welfare in the right direction.
Making seafaring a more attractive profession
“Best practices and initiatives are important for seafarers, but we need to address long-standing systemic issues in the industry,” noted Nikolaos Koletsis during the discussion on making seafaring an attractive profession.
To address these issues, there must be proper enforcement of existing legislation and political will to change ineffective practices, such as managing fatigue and ensuring fundamental rights and social security protection.
However, a lack of coordination between member states has hindered resolution efforts. The recognition of a new social contract with seafarers is a positive sign, but we need to go beyond international minimums, Koletsis warned.
Isabelle Rickmers referred to the crew shortage discussed in the industry, which creates an opportunity for companies to attract new people and retain existing crew. “Needless to say, we should have acted sooner, but it used to be like a black box. Now, industry stakeholders are aware of the situation and are taking steps forward in crew wellbeing. We should all learn from the leading companies, which will create positive momentum,” she argued.
Explore more by watching the discussion below.