Subscribe to our Mailing Lists (It's free!)
Saturday, May 27, 2023
SAFETY4SEA
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    Chinese fishing boat capesizes in Indian Ocean

    French navy seizes $108 million drugs in Indian Ocean

    #WomenInMaritimeDay: How the industry mobilizes networks for gender equality

    ISWAN: The stigma of on-board menstruation should be ended

    RightShip: Deficiencies and non-conformities involving pilot ladders and arrangements show increase

    RightShip: Deficiencies and non-conformities involving pilot ladders and arrangements show increase

    dry dock

    Lessons learned: Protect yourself by working according to the precautions on the permit

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    power of hug

    The power of hugging: How it affects our health

    Impostor Syndrome

    Mental Health Focus: How to deal with Impostor Syndrome

    wellbeing at sea

    World Laughter Day 2023: Laughter is the best medicine

    mental fatigue

    Stay SEAFiT: How to cope with mental fatigue

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    Watch: PowerX introduces Battery Tanker X

    Watch: PowerX introduces Battery Tanker X

    busy anchorage

    Nautilus and BIMCO urge the industry to rethink charter party frameworks

    dhl hapag lloyd

    ExxonMobil and Hapag-Lloyd sign for B30 marine bio fuel

    ibia

    GMF: Maritime decarbonisation presents opportunities in Latin America

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    communication onboard, connectivity

    IMO Sub-Committee considers introduction of VDES into SOLAS

    Modern navigation requires modern training

    IMO makes progress on navigational safety

    ecdis

    IMO Sub-Committee updates ECDIS performance standards

    GMF: What are the legal implications of operational efficiency

    GMF: What are the legal implications of operational efficiency

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Case Studies
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    civil penalties, fines

    ONE and Wan Hai to pay $2.65 million in civil penalties

    uk mca

    Cyprus PSC Performance Report 2022: Fire safety is the most common ship deficiency area

    USCG PSC Report 2022: BWM compliance remains challenging

    indonesia illegal anchoring

    Tanker detained off Malaysia for anchoring illegally

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Reports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    #WomenInMaritimeDay: How the industry mobilizes networks for gender equality

    ISWAN: The stigma of on-board menstruation should be ended

    lifeboats

    Canadian Government invests $2.5 billion into Coast Guard vessels

    ESG Watch: Expert thinking on ESG in the maritime industry

    ESG Watch: Expert thinking on ESG in the maritime industry

    industry standard on in-water cleaning

    BIMCO: Container spot rates 32% up on 2019 despite weaker supply and demand balance

  • Columns
    shore power genoa sanova

    Powering the future: Reducing carbon footprint with shore power

    ships dismantled

    Sustainable Ship Recycling & EU Taxonomy

    Armada Risk Partners: Ports and terminals need to become more aware of the imminent threats

    Armada Risk Partners: Ports and terminals need to become more aware of the imminent threats

    Trending Tags

    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Wellness Corner
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    Chinese fishing boat capesizes in Indian Ocean

    French navy seizes $108 million drugs in Indian Ocean

    #WomenInMaritimeDay: How the industry mobilizes networks for gender equality

    ISWAN: The stigma of on-board menstruation should be ended

    RightShip: Deficiencies and non-conformities involving pilot ladders and arrangements show increase

    RightShip: Deficiencies and non-conformities involving pilot ladders and arrangements show increase

    dry dock

    Lessons learned: Protect yourself by working according to the precautions on the permit

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    power of hug

    The power of hugging: How it affects our health

    Impostor Syndrome

    Mental Health Focus: How to deal with Impostor Syndrome

    wellbeing at sea

    World Laughter Day 2023: Laughter is the best medicine

    mental fatigue

    Stay SEAFiT: How to cope with mental fatigue

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    Watch: PowerX introduces Battery Tanker X

    Watch: PowerX introduces Battery Tanker X

    busy anchorage

    Nautilus and BIMCO urge the industry to rethink charter party frameworks

    dhl hapag lloyd

    ExxonMobil and Hapag-Lloyd sign for B30 marine bio fuel

    ibia

    GMF: Maritime decarbonisation presents opportunities in Latin America

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    communication onboard, connectivity

    IMO Sub-Committee considers introduction of VDES into SOLAS

    Modern navigation requires modern training

    IMO makes progress on navigational safety

    ecdis

    IMO Sub-Committee updates ECDIS performance standards

    GMF: What are the legal implications of operational efficiency

    GMF: What are the legal implications of operational efficiency

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Case Studies
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    civil penalties, fines

    ONE and Wan Hai to pay $2.65 million in civil penalties

    uk mca

    Cyprus PSC Performance Report 2022: Fire safety is the most common ship deficiency area

    USCG PSC Report 2022: BWM compliance remains challenging

    indonesia illegal anchoring

    Tanker detained off Malaysia for anchoring illegally

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Reports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    #WomenInMaritimeDay: How the industry mobilizes networks for gender equality

    ISWAN: The stigma of on-board menstruation should be ended

    lifeboats

    Canadian Government invests $2.5 billion into Coast Guard vessels

    ESG Watch: Expert thinking on ESG in the maritime industry

    ESG Watch: Expert thinking on ESG in the maritime industry

    industry standard on in-water cleaning

    BIMCO: Container spot rates 32% up on 2019 despite weaker supply and demand balance

  • Columns
    shore power genoa sanova

    Powering the future: Reducing carbon footprint with shore power

    ships dismantled

    Sustainable Ship Recycling & EU Taxonomy

    Armada Risk Partners: Ports and terminals need to become more aware of the imminent threats

    Armada Risk Partners: Ports and terminals need to become more aware of the imminent threats

    Trending Tags

    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Wellness Corner
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
SAFETY4SEA

How to revive messrooms and the fun onboard

by Ioanna Vernardou
February 22, 2022
in Opinions
How to revive messrooms and the fun onboard

Crew Games onboard / Image Credit: Blue Planet Shipping

FacebookTwitterEmailLinkedin

In the recent years seafarers living and working conditions onboard ships have improved significantly. However, we tend to see that Seafarers feel lonely, group activities have reduced and there are still welfare issues to be dealt with, explains Mrs. Ioanna Vernardou, DPA / CSO, Blue Planet Shipping Safety Quality Environmental Department.

All of our ships have internet today, a very important facility for our seafarers. They have the opportunity to communicate with their families and access whatever content they wish instantly. There is however another aspect that we started to notice when we were attending our ships.

The ever-busy mess rooms at evenings that we were used to see them full of our crew members discussing, watching movies, playing backgammon and many more activities are now quiet and empty. Everyone is in his/her cabin over a laptop, pad or smartphone surfing the internet.

We then started wondering whether the ability to connect with your world at shore leads to your distancing and “disconnection” with the teammates onboard… An issue that may be relevant to each and everyone of us living in the era of internet, social media and hopefully the “post-lockdowns” period.

RelatedNews

ISWAN: The stigma of on-board menstruation should be ended

Nautical Institute and Seafarers’ Charity join forces for crew welfare

We at Blue Planet came up with an idea during the start of the pandemic at 2020 as one of the measures to support our seafarer’s welfare. We have introduced a series of onboard tournaments. These tournaments include table tennis, table soccer, chess, backgammon, mahjong, bingo / tombola, monopoly, darts and basketball.

The requirement is to have at least 10 participants in an effort to engage as many crew members as possible and there are prizes for winners and runners up. Furthermore vessels completing a series of tournaments win surprise awards for all crew.

After almost 2 years of implementation we see that our seafarers welcomed this initiative and they are enjoying these tournaments very much challenging us to keep up the effort and introduce more ideas and surprise awards.

Image Credit: Blue Planet Shipping

An example of these surprise awards was to arrange the food delivery (Pizza Hut, McDonalds) while vessels were at the port and especially if there were shore leave restrictions at that port. Everyone enjoyed very much these surprise parties.

Another aspect that turned out to be very interesting was the element of humor, that of course has no place in matters of safety, business and commercial activities. However when discussing welfare and living conditions, we need to include humor and fun.

When we sent the announcement to be placed at the noticeboards we added the symbol of the Hunger Games as a letterhead for the first season of tournaments, our crew members responded with very creative reports of the games and certificates of excellence for winners and participants.

During the 2022 season we introduced the Squid Game theme and again we received very interesting artwork at the completion of each game. Ships are not only a workplace but a home for each seafarer for the months he/she spends onboard.

Our messrooms are loud and busy again and we are very proud of that!

 

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

Tags: life onboardwellness at sea
Ioanna Vernardou

Ioanna Vernardou

Ioanna Vernardou is a maritime professional with 12 years experience in the field. She held positions of HSQE Manager, DPA and CSO at Greek and Cypriot based Shipping Companies. She has worked extensively in developing and maintaining Safety Management Systems, conducted numerous shipboard audits and sailed onboard bulk carriers for several months. Ioanna Vernardou is a member of the International Propeller Club and WISTA Hellas. She is a graduate of Geitonas School and holds a Bsc in Shipping Operations & Management.

Comments 1

  1. Fidel Gonzalez F. says:
    1 year ago

    Good day Messrs Blue Planet, congratulations for such a project.

    Figure out that ashore the stress for everybody because of the Pandemic´s consequence is tremendous; now supposed how it should be onboard far away from family and in a pandemic time. This initiative procure the mental healthy which it is necessary in order for people to complete satisfactory their task onboard. I´m happy that you can see the positive result onboard and of course a good mentality will become on a balance behavior of crew onboard and therefore good performance in their different tasks onboard ships.

    On the other hand as you said the ship is not only the work place but in addition it will be their house for a determine period of time and then it should be confortable for every body. Thus avoiding additional stress or anxiety for the crewmember that already have plenty presure due to different situations around themselve and their families.

    The welfare the crew get through easy activities like the one implemented in your fleet have a positive impact on a people living in a ship and then they will have an actituted and behaviors without the stress originated because of the uncertainty of the wordwide pandemic and others families concerns crew can face. Then avoiding mental disorders that can affect their behavior onboard and thus avoiding a negative impact on their performance on daily duties onboard.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

shore power genoa sanova

Powering the future: Reducing carbon footprint with shore power

May 26, 2023
Chinese fishing boat capesizes in Indian Ocean

French navy seizes $108 million drugs in Indian Ocean

May 26, 2023
MARITIME EVENTS

Explore

  • Safety
  • SEAFiT
  • Green
  • Smart
  • Risk
  • Others
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

Useful Links

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Editorial Policies
  • Advertising
  • Contact

© 2021 SAFETY4SEA

No Result
View All Result
  • Safety
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
  • SEAFiT
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
  • Green
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
  • Smart
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
  • Risk
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Case Studies
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
  • Others
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Reports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
  • Columns
    • Opinions
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Wellness Corner
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

© 2021 SAFETY4SEA

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Disclaimer.