International seafarer welfare charity The Mission to Seafarers, says that reports of obesity, mental health problems and gender discrimination among seafarers are on the rise, while happiness at sea continues to fall.
The London-based mission provides help and support to the 1.5 million men and women who face danger every day to keep our global economy afloat. The group works in over 200 ports in 50 countries caring for seafarers of all ranks, nationalities and beliefs.
According to the mission’s Seafarer Happiness Index, a global survey designed to track seafarers’ welfare needs and feelings about life at sea, overall seafarer satisfaction levels at sea has dropped to 6.32 out of 10 — a decrease of more than 5% from the figure recorded at this time last year (6.69).
Over the past 12 months, the mission published a series of anonymized reports from the survey which flagged a number of alarming issues. These include rising concerns around the mental wellbeing of seafarers, with many respondents to the survey reporting high levels of boredom and stress. A number of seafarers criticized the shortage of facilities onboard, while others complained of a lack of shore leave and access to reliable WiFi.
Several female respondents also reported incidents around gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment at sea. Last year’s index had the highest number of female participants to date, comprising 12.32% of the total in the latest report to be published. On average, female seafarers tended to be less happy than their male colleagues. A few reported feeling lonely or isolated, especially when they were the only woman onboard.
Issues around weight gain and exercise were also flagged in the responses. Some respondents complained that chandlers were sending cheaper, lower-quality branded food supplies to ships, while others stated that while they wanted to exercise they found it very hard to either get the time or the motivation.
The announcement came ahead of this week’s CMA Shipping Conference in Connecticut, where the mission’s director of advocacy and regional engagement Ben Bailey presented the findings from the first three months of this year on Wednesday.
“The mission’s Seafarers Happiness Index is about empowering seafarers across the world by giving them a confidential platform to voice their opinions and concerns,” Bailey said. “In an industry that so often goes unseen by the vast majority of the global population, it’s so important that we do our part to show that these men and women are not forgotten and that we are always listening.”
During his presentation, Bailey also highlighted the need for more seafarers to take the survey, and for shipping companies to use the results as a key measure for progress and growth.
“The survey and the subsequent reports that we publish, provide us with a genuine insight into the issues affecting thousands of seafarers, allowing us to see what makes them happy and identify the things that may be affecting their mental health in a negative way,” Bailey said.
This year the mission will continue to publish its findings from the survey once a quarter.
