With the support of Port Authority of Barcelona, Barcelona Port Welfare Committee (PWC) has started organizing ‘dock experience’ meetings between seafarers and port representatives on the dock of a terminal. This is a way to improve the experience of crews calling in the port.
Following the kidnap of 20 crewmembers from MV Duke off the coast of Benin, ISWAN and ICMA (the International Christian Maritime Association) partner to express their concerns about the wellbeing and safety of seafarers who sail the “notorious and dangerous waters of the Gulf of Guinea”.
On 1st December each year, the World AIDS Day aims to spread awareness on a disease which caused an estimated 770,000 deaths worldwide in 2018 only. Due to the nature of their work, seafarers bear a great risk since the constant traveling increases probabilities of sexual activity with casual partners all over the world.
As ISWAN’s Regional Programme provides support to seafarers and their families in South and South East Asia and Nigeria, it now provides support to the crew that was arrested by the Nigerian Navy for illegal bunkering, through their time in prison, as well as after their release.
ISWAN launched its first annual review for 2018-2019, based on statistics from their international helpline for seafarers and their families, SeafarerHelp, presenting ISWAN’s objectives in helping seafarers while also providing information on the seafarers that contacted in the specific timeframe, their gender, their nationality and the issues affecting them.
On Monday, November 18th, ShipMoney, the international maritime payment solutions provider announced the launch of a new initiative with the name ShipMoney Cares. ShipMoney Cares will be managed by ISWAN and is intended to provide one-time financial grants to seafarers in need, such as medical or educational aid. ShipMoney along with its partners will make a substantial annual donation to the program, with a maximum grant of $500 while seafarers can apply once a year.
Fighting stress onboard is both challenging and crucial. Although much of our everyday stress can be useful in a way of noticing a problem or the pressures that we face, triggering us to act, in general, repeated and prolonged stress may have negative effects on our mental health. Focusing on seafarers’ safety and wellness onboard, a self-help guide, issued previously by ISWAN in cooperation with the Shipowners’ Club, provides practical tips to seafarers to better deal with stress and be able to recognize its symptoms and face a stressful situation.
On the occasion of the World Mental Health Day celebrated on 10th October, Mental Health Foundation issued an infographic providing simple suicide prevention advice for anyone concerned. This comes as the World Health Organization sheds a focus this year on suicide prevention.
Every 40 seconds, someone in the world loses their life to suicide, a figure which could justify a global interest in a greater awareness on mental health issues. On the occasion of the World Mental Health Day 2019 celebrated today, the World Health Organization sheds a focus on suicide prevention.
ISWAN operates the Piracy Survivor Family Fund on behalf of the United Nations Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) for seafarers and families who have been affected by Somali piracy, and encourages any seafarer, seafarers’ welfare organisation, or seafarers’ families that have been affected by Somali piracy.
