The outbreak of coronavirus has been at the centre of discussions as it has already led to a number of fatalities, while the shipping industry and stakeholders have issued advises and steps to be taken so that seafarers are protected.
AP-Moller Maersk, Maersk Tankers, DFDS Group, Norden and Torm are the five companies announced to join Denmark’s new “Charter for more women in shipping” initiative, in favor of attracting more women in the shipping industry.
Mental health is an important component of physical wellbeing aboard ship. Yet seafarers have often suffered mental distress alone and isolated due to the stigma attached to mental illness and the lack of understanding in how to react to a seafarer in crisis. In this third of Gard’s series of articles on mental health of seafarers, Sandra Guiguet shares her personal experience and training in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA).
Denmark launched a new initiative in boosting women’s presence in the Danish maritime sector and supporting diversity, as Danish Shipping, reported that the first 14 companies will sign a charter that obliges them to actively focus on gender equality, called “Charter for more women in shipping”.
Nautilus reports that the top complaint they have been receiving by members through its helpline for 2019 was the issue of unpaid wages, an issue that is seriously affecting seafarers onboard. It is stated that in addition to unpaid wages, other issues that seafarers faced were unfair dismissals and bullying onboard.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) published a report providing guidelines to the shipping industry of how to tackle age discrimination onboard, highlighting that in many jurisdictions age discrimination is unlawful and can create problems.
The French Navy’s maritime search and rescue centre assisted the medevac of a crewmember onboard the CMA CGM Otello vessel, after an eye injury, and transferred them to a maritime medical consultation centre.
Recently, shipping stakeholders submitted a paper to the IMO proposing the addition of a new output under the work program on Fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing maritime crimes. The paper highlights that in some cases the master and the crew may not be aware of their vessel being involved in smuggling activities
13 January 2020 marks the “National Obesity Awareness Week” in the UK, in efforts to raise awareness on the “overweight issue” that severely impacts the lives of people and most importantly those of seafarers’, as it poses a barrier for seafarers during their duty and heavily impacts their health.
A research by Cardiff University explored mental health and well-being among seafarers. The key finding was that more than half (55%) of employers asked said they had not introduced any policies or practices to address mental health for a decade.
