Mental wrecks on decks

‘When a man is out of sight, it is not long before he is out mind.’ (Victor Hugo)

This is the mental anguish shipping crews stranded at sea have been feeling for weeks on end as they are caught in the total and utter disruption wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. While news coverage all over world zeroed in on overrun hospitals, spiralling deaths, eerily empty, silent cities under lockdown, and a communal outpouring of gratitude to frontliners, you would be hard-pressed to find a minute’s mention of the frustration, stress, and anxiety overwhelming shipping crew. Although life is infinitely more precious than cargo and equipment, the lives of the men and women who work onboard vessels are not deemed exciting or sensational by mainstream mass media and consequently not worth attention.

The sole exception being the widespread coverage given on May 1, when ships berthed in ports and harbours sounded their horns to pay tribute to seafarers maintaining global supply chains in a world that stopped spinning. Indeed, the spotlight on crew personnel is largely confined to the niche of maritime publications. How many of us especially if totally unconnected with the shipping industry read such stuff?

The latest Seafarers Happiness Index report for Q1 2020 shows a drop from 6.39 to 6.30 when compared to the last four months of 2019. Seafarers’ ongoing concerns instantly point to issues regarding workload, poor and/or limited internet access, shore leave, living conditions, and cultural tensions arising from multinational staff. Unsurprisingly, the fear of infection given the impossibility of sustaining social distance in the confined spaces of life at sea and above all prohibition of crew changes stamped the last survey. Q2 is likely to show a grimmer picture since the lifting of some restrictions on land only began at the beginning of this month.

Extended contracts to counteract embarkation and disembarkation bans has translated into increased workloads and intensified social conflicts on board with the result that seafarers are feeling more exhausted, stressed, and isolated. Many even feel let down and abandoned by their governments. The resulting toll on mental well-being undermining work and safety standards cannot be overstated. Although this is true in any workplace, ships are among the most vulnerable of workplaces because seafarers have tough, life-risking jobs. Just because they become expert at directing the sail in the full knowledge that they cannot control the wind does not make them immune to emotional trauma. They are flesh and blood like the rest of us.

Now that lockdown measures are easing in several countries (despite the spectre of a second wave of COVID-19) the agony of the men and women on board who have not seen their loved ones for months continues. Despite being fully aware that prohibiting crew changes cannot go on indefinitely, two weeks ago the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) still gave the go-ahead for another month’s extension to work contracts when it struck a deal with trade unions and ship employers. Nevertheless, it also issued a circular letter to its members outlining a series of guidelines to facilitate long-overdue crew changes. Unlike the first and second extensions to work permits which were put into force to prevent contagion, the third one aims to give maritime administrators and related government entities time to implement the right measures to ensure health and safety standards in pandemic times which clearly go beyond the demands of immediate processing of crew’ certification.

Admittedly, focus on seafarers’ mental well-being has been making headlines in maritime publications long before the pandemic broke out which is in line with increased awareness of mental stress. But the dramatic surge in the number of seafarers seeking help on account of the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is homing in on the plight of men and women left stranded since port restrictions worldwide have rendered crew changes next to impossible. Again, the voices crying out for help are not heard in mainstream media. Thankfully, helplines exclusively dedicated to sailors and their families are reaching out with an intensified commitment to help.

24/7 helplines such as SeafarerHelp (run by International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network) are proving indispensable in offering much needed emotional support, financial guidance as well as news updates about visas and changing port procedures. Their triple increase in calls last month, when compared to April 2019, has led to an expansion of the helpline’s remote workforce to cope with the steep spike in calls.

Sailor’s Society has also set up a COVID-19 dedicated helpline to offer confidential 24/7 support together with virtual chaplaincy services to seafarers and their families in surreal times. This international welfare maritime charity has also reported a dramatic surge in calls voicing burnout, anxiety about loved ones as well as job loss because redeployment too has virtually ground to a halt. Generous donations from individual patrons and shipping companies have enabled Sailors’ Society to offer grants to help seafarers and their families get through periods of dried up income. Seafarers can also access practical resources via the society’s advice hub.

The reality, however, is that ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, few seafarers have been able to go home and this has been aggravated by costly shore passes, problematic access to transport especially cancelled flights and fears of getting infected with the dreaded virus. The norm of minimum crewing levels has also impeded readily available cover while making logistics even more of a headache.

Prior to the pandemic, IMO regulations led to about 150,000 crew changes per month in order to ensure safety, crew health and wellbeing, and prevent fatigue. The upheaval caused by COVID-19 basically trashed these regulations with the consequence of extended work contracts prolonging long periods spent at sea.

The Labour Day tribute to seafarers rang out a message of how much we owe sailors for sustaining supply chains against all odds. They are the backbone of the shipping industry that in turn delivers over 90% of global trade. Of course, there were delays and disruptions causing temporary out-of-stock items. But the food chain supply did not go underwater. In fact, medicines and PPE were impacted much more and mostly as a consequence of export bans rather than of transport hitches that in their case was carried out by air. Such a feat in a traumatised world is thanks to the tenacity and resilience of seafarers. They do not deserve to be out of sight, out of mind.