ITF Seafarers’ Trust: Better access to wifi onboard and facilitating shore leave remain key focus areas of crew welfare

‘’The most important thing is for seafaring to be recognized as a valuable and essential profession.’’ highlights Mrs Higginbottom and explains that the Trust, has recently initiated a number of photography competitions as a mean to raise awareness of the vital role of seafarers in global trade and spread the message across a wider non-maritime audience.

SAFETY4SEA: What are the top priorities in the ITF Seafarers’ Trust agenda for 2022?

Katie Higginbottom: Unfortunately, it looks as though our priority will continue to be supporting all efforts to limit the negative impact Covid restrictions continue to have on seafarers. Although the crew change crises of recent times seem to be being managed to a large extent, there are still structural problems around the contractual nature of the employment that mean that some seafarers’ families have had a really challenging 18 months. As the virus develops new variants and travel by air remains restricted the shipping industry has been resourceful in maintaining operations. Some have also prioritised the wellbeing of their crews, but many seafarers have had to dig deep into their reserves of resilience and tolerate very harsh conditions.

According to our own recent research, the key priorities for seafarers in terms of welfare are access to shore leave and to decent means of communication with friends and family as well as internet access for leisure and learning. The uncertainties around crew change have heightened the importance of getting off the ship from time to time and maintaining contact with developments at home. We cannot lose sight of the fact that seafarers live in isolation with their fellow crew on board for months on end and need as much support, understanding and respect for this aspect of the profession as can reasonably be afforded. We will be working together with the frontline welfare charities to make sure they can continue to provide services to seafarers, whilst taking all the necessary safety precautions.

S4S: From your perspective, what are the key challenges that the maritime industry is currently facing? What are your suggestions to move forward?

K.H.: The maritime industry is not one homogenous thing, some parts of the industry are now making massive profits whilst others are on their knees. That said, there are certain underlying issues with the maritime industry that create particular problems – the fact that most seafarers are employed on a contractual basis without certainty of continuous employment makes it very difficult to push for the reinforcement of basic rights. I recall reading a certain shipowner, during one of the worst phases of the crew change crisis, calling on seafarers to go on strike to force governments to open their borders. Sadly, the current power dynamics would never allow that to happen. Shipowners might want to think about providing greater job security if they want an alliance against intransigent governments or profit driven charterers. Equally the multiple jurisdictions involved in vessel registration, economic interests and crewing seemed to undermine the industry’s ability to lobby for seafarers’ rights when governments were prioritising the safety of their nationals in a pandemic.

Aside from the structural and regulatory issues, the obvious challenge is climate change and how to adapt to alternative fuels and more efficient ways of operating a ship. There’s obviously a lot of research and development underway and it is to be hoped that the impact on seafarers is being adequately considered in relation to the various options. The other point to note about climate change is the disproportionate effects on the global south and the correlation with the countries that supply the majority of the world’s seafarers. We’ve just been supporting the Filipino seafarers’ unions following the typhoon that struck the islands just before Christmas. If seafarers are recruited from such countries with limited social security provisions by companies based in more stable regions, should there be some form of insurance to support the families in the event of an environmental disaster?

S4S: What lessons has the industry learned with the pandemic? Where should we improve for a future crisis situation?

K.H.: The industry may have learned that by staying in the shadows and treating light touch regulation as a competitive advantage, ultimately it lacked leverage when it came to dealing with national governments. Then again, the industry may not see it that way…On the other hand, there has been excellent cooperation amongst maritime stakeholders – especially the IMO, ILO, ICS, IMEC and the ITF and greater awareness and focus on the welfare and wellbeing of seafarers. It is to be hoped that this translates into practical measures that last beyond the pandemic. For example it has been proved that it is possible to significantly improve the provision of internet on board vessels for relatively little cost and great appreciation from seafarers. Such services should be continued and expanded for the sake of crew morale. And we have all learned that it is possible to work effectively from home and maintain important relationships over zoom. And whilst some interactions need to be ‘in-person’ the carbon footprint of business travel can be dramatically reduced.

S4S: Are you satisfied with industry stakeholders’ response on the issue of crew welfare until today? Where should ship operators focus on and how could your organization help towards?

K.H.: Again there is no single answer to this question. Some are brilliant, some are extremely poor. In recent times, the Trust has funded research with Yale and World Maritime University on seafarers’ mental health and the issue of hours of work and hours of rest respectively. There is now much greater recognition of the importance of mental as well as physical health. This has resulted in some companies and organisations developing awareness training and establishing help lines. This is a positive step, but, as the research has shown, there are many correlations between poor mental health and operational factors such as fatigue, contract extensions, inadequate manning and lack of shore leave. These issues could all be addressed – but at a cost. So far, the industry has shown zero appetite to consider some these fundamental underlying factors and instead encourages resilience and helplines.

S4S: In your view, has the industry been successful in enhancing its safety performance? What should be the next steps? How can we further enhance safety culture onboard?

K.H.: Last year the World Maritime University published some pilot research funded by the Trust on record keeping of hours of work and hours of rest under the title ‘A culture of adjustment’. It clearly identified a problem with safety culture. Seafarers are expected to adjust their reports in order to comply with regulation instead of revealing the realities on board. Unfortunately, many stakeholders collude in this practice because they can’t see a way to change the system and the consequences of exposing the issues can be calamitous for the seafarers or port state control officers that blow the whistle. The industry needs to be much more transparent about these fundamental problems and show a will to address them. The report includes a section of recommendations for the various stakeholders. The industry as a whole has broader problems around reporting of accidents, near misses and fatalities on board that makes it very difficult to access good data and make progress in improving safety performance.

S4S: Considering the ongoing humanitarian crisis (due to the pandemic) and recent accidents (i.e. Ever Given), how may the young generation think of the shipping industry? How should we work to raise industry’s profile to the next talents?

K.H.: The younger generation with whom we have recently spoken are attracted to the industry because of the opportunities to have a responsible career with a good training path. Many have a family connection and an aspiration to see the world. They also want to provide for their dependents. The most important thing is for seafaring to be recognized as a valuable and essential profession. In the Trust, we have recently initiated a number of photography competitions to create a visual archive that gives an immediate insight into the life on board. We’re using this to raise awareness of the vital role of seafarers in global trade and hoping to reach a wider non-maritime audience.

S4S: What are you looking forward to in 2022? What would you be most glad about seeing changing in the maritime industry next year?

K.H.: I’d like to see the cooperation around the challenges of the pandemic translate into strengthened networks striving to improve seafarers’ welfare. I’d like to see a commitment to provide much better access to wifi on board ships and more efforts to facilitate shore leave, whilst taking into account all the necessary safety precautions.

The views presented are only those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.