Op-Ed: Mental Health Care is Safety-Critical, Not an Added Benefit

 

If mental health is not treated as safety-critical, we risk losing a whole generation of seafarers who are not willing to sacrifice their health for a career, regardless of how well-paid it is.

Life at sea can be unforgiving, seafarers face long stretches away from home, shift patterns that disrupt sleep, demanding operational pressures, isolation, harsh weather, and often little privacy.

We are already seeing heightened anxiety in younger seafarers before they have even stepped foot on the ship. Some of this is genuine incidence, some is better recognition and willingness to disclose. Younger seafarers often report performance pressure, financial insecurity, and digital overexposure earlier in their careers.

Mental health is far too often treated as an added benefit for crew, but the industry must view it as safety-critical if we are to make any progress in reducing the number of serious mental health episodes and suicides among seafarers.

When mental health support is not embedded into a company culture, then it is likely more emergency situations will occur. This is when immediate expert intervention is essential to ensure the seafarer’s health is protected. There must be a support plan in place running all the way through from crisis to aftercare, and helping to ensure the crew member is mentally fit to return to work.

This comprehensive plan should involve connecting the seafarer with language-matched psychologists and safety protocols, ship-to-shore coordination, family liaison support when home crises drive onboard distress, and after-action support for crew.

For the industry to see a real impact on mental health, early intervention is key, as well as helping seafarers recognize their own triggers and how to prevent their mental health escalating in times of crisis.

It is a global concern that mental health is not prioritized or resourced well enough to address the issue and ensure sufficient support is in place. We must not forget that being out at sea can be a ticking time bomb for a seafarer suffering a decline in their mental health. They don’t have access to their support system, their freedom is taken away, lack of sleep and rest, and access to ordinary activities to reduce stress is limited. It really is the perfect storm for mental health to decline further where the crew member may end up feeling there is no way out. Therefore, it must be treated as a crucial aspect of a vessel’s safety management systems and should not be compromised.

Along with anxiety, one of the most common triggers for mental health episodes we are currently seeing is sleep and fatigue load. When you have watchkeeping, port rushes, time-zone shifts mixed with health, noise and an overstimulating environment, it results in cognitive strain, irritability and low mood.

Due to the nature of the job, seafarers have long suffered with isolation and family stress issues which are also common triggers. Operational pressure and uncertainty are another trigger. Inspections, tight turnarounds, manning shortages and contract and visa delays all lead to feelings of instability and uncertainty over their how their day-to-day life onboard will look like with no assurance over getting home on time.

Sadly, we are still seeing a high number of bullying and harassment cases and conflicts, as well as seeing 24/7 access to social media and toxic online content, leading to a negative impact on mental health.  

We are certainly making progress in increasing awareness and are seeing more companies place emphasis on crews’ mental health and wellbeing, but awareness alone isn’t enough. Where companies embed protocols, such as clear escalation, language-matched clinicians, fatigue controls, and family liaison, we see earlier help-seeking and fewer high-severity crises. The most progress occurs when mental health is integrated into ISM/SMS and leaders are trained to act on early warning signs.

We must treat mental health as safety critical, build protocols, ensure sleep and fatigue protections, and give crews fast access to clinicians who speak their language. That combination consistently lowers risk and improves outcomes.

Charles Watkins is Director of Clinical Operations, Mental Health Support Solutions, a member of OneCare Group.