Tag: ISWAN

The Trafigura Foundation awarded ISWAN a grant to improve its helpline and support dedicated emergency funds for seafarers experiencing difficult situations at sea. With the grant, this system will be improved in order to provide a better service and improved data monitoring of seafarers in need. 

Seafarers are those who bore the brunt of severe uncertainty within the maritime industry, according to a 2016 annual report from ISWAN. The SeafarerHelp report shows how the industry was left wrestling with a number of problems, which delivered serious knock on effects for people working at sea. 

ISWAN and CHIRP have entered into a MoU to cooperate in improving seafarers’ safety and welfare. By working together, ISWAN through its SeafarersHelp will assist seafarers to complete the initial report to CHIRP highlighting unsafe working practices. This will be particularly helpful for seafarers whose first language is not English.

ISWAN announced the launch of a self-help guide for seafarers’ mental health, under its 24/7 helpline, "SeafarerHelp". Working away at sea with limited means of communication and little or no shore leave means that it can be difficult for seafarers to access the emotional support they might need.

The UK P&I Club provides advice on how to spot the mental health signs among the crew onboard. A recent analysis revealed that anxiety, social isolation, pressure of work and disturbed sleep can affect crew, all of which can negatively affect crew of all ages, nationalities and ranks.

On the occasion of the Day of the Seafarer, ISWAN highlighted the indisputable importance of the seafarers for the world, noting that without them, "half of the world would starve while the other half would freeze." However, despite their importance, seafarers in 2017 are still being abandoned, mistreated, kidnapped and held hostage by pirates, bullied and treated as commodities.

For seafarers, the likelihood of contracting a Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is increased, due to their unsettled lifestyles and a lack of access to necessary precautions.

The Shipowners P&I Club notes that seafarers are more likely to suffer from mental health problems than the general population, especially depression and anxiety. Mental health continues to be a cause of Club claims. The causes of mental health problems among seafarers often relate to their social isolation.

The Shipowners' P&I Club provides advice to seafarers on how to maintain their dental hygiene on board as they can spend weeks at sea on a voyage with limited access to regular and advanced dental care whilst at sea.

In this article, Dr Olivia Swift and Dr Rikke Jensen, Researchers in the University of London, use existing research to investigate how connectivity and social media can help and/or hinder seafarers’ mental health and onboard social cohesion.