ISWAN’s half-year helpline data indicates mounting welfare challenges at sea

Data from the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network’s (ISWAN) SeafarerHelp helpline show rising numbers of calls relating to abandonment, repatriation, severe mental health issues and experiences of abuse at sea.The risks that seafarers face have had unusually high profile in the mainstream media in 2024: the ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea; the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht; and the aftermath of the Baltimore bridge tragedy have all drawn media attention to the dangers of life at sea.

Data released today from SeafarerHelp, ISWAN’s free, confidential, multilingual helpline for seafarers and their families around the world, provides insight into the many challenges that seafarers face in the course of their life and work at sea that generally remain outside the media spotlight.

Between January and June 2024, SeafarerHelp saw increased numbers of contacts in some of the most concerning areas of seafarer welfare. ISWAN’s helpline officers provided support to 227 seafarers in 25 cases of abandonment, up by 150% from 10 cases during the first six months of 2023. Many of these seafarers had not been paid for a number of months and, in some cases, lacked drinking water and other essential provisions. In several cases, the seafarers had secured employment by paying fees to fraudulent recruitment agents, highlighting the wider structural issues in the maritime sector that lead to seafarers being placed in at times dangerous working environments.

The first half of 2024 also saw a 17% increase in the number of contacts relating to mental health concerns, with 109 seafarers contacting SeafarerHelp, up from 93 in the same period in 2023. This included 15 cases in which the seafarer raised thoughts of suicide, up from seven cases in the first half of 2023. In many of instances, worries about their family at home was having a detrimental impact on seafarers’ mental wellbeing, with many struggling to cope with financial difficulties, relationship issues or the illness or death of loved ones whilst far away at sea. In other cases, challenges at work had impacted seafarers’ mental health, with many raising difficulties with repatriation, fears of making a mistake or excessive work hours as factors that were negatively affecting their wellbeing.Experiences of abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination or violence (ABHDV) was a further key contributor to the mental health challenges of many seafarers contacting SeafarerHelp. In the first half of 2024, there were 92 contacts to SeafarerHelp relating to ABHDV, up by 28% on the same period the previous year. Many seafarers sought ISWAN’s help having experienced bullying by senior officers, with some citing being required to work excessively long hours or being denied necessary medical care. Other seafarers reported experiencing discrimination on the basis of their nationality or religion.

Simon Grainge, the Chief Executive of ISWAN, said:‘At a time when the focus of the maritime sector is on the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea and the pressing requirements to decarbonise, it’s essential that we do not lose sight of the many welfare challenges that seafarers are encountering every day at sea. ISWAN’s helpline data sheds light on the need for increased action to prevent the worst violations of seafarers’ rights, mostly notably the rise in cases of seafarer abandonment. More broadly, however, insights from SeafarerHelp show that beyond these most extreme cases, there is a need for continued efforts to build safe and inclusive cultures which are supportive of the health and wellbeing of the seafarers on whom the maritime sector depends.’

ISWAN plans to release data from SeafarerHelp and YachtCrewHelp for the whole of 2024 in the New Year to share insights into the challenges seafarers and their families have faced this year.