Ausmarine editorial – December 2011 / Baird Maritime editorial – January 2012
By Robert Iversen
What about the mental health of seafarers? Well, for many it is not very good. They spend months, maybe years, away from home; they get lonely; they work many hours straight without enough sleep; they face stress and fatigue, lack of shore leave, short ship-turnaround times, and harassment and bullying. These can lead to anxiety and depression, and in some cases suicide.
Depression and suicide have devastating consequences, not only for seafarers' families, but also for shipmates and the companies that employ them. A recent compilation of 12 reports from the last two decades found that out of 9,591 seafarer deaths between 1976 and 2005, at least 625 were suicides. This is an astonishing 6.5 percent, more than three times the national rate among most Western countries. In Australia, suicides represented two percent of all deaths nationwide in 1998 and 1.5 percent in 2008. It is a disgrace that seafarer suicides should be so high.
Several reports showed large numbers of seafarers disappeared at sea. One 2005 study found that of 835 deaths, 178 (21.3 percent) were seafarers who disappeared at sea. Another study from 2007 found that of 369 deaths, 22 (6.0 percent) disappeared at sea. The authors of these reports think that 50 percent were suicides. If they were included, the percentage of seafarer deaths by suicide would be even higher.
On April 9, 2011, the Korean master of the bulk carrier 'Ocean Caesar' was reported missing about 40 nautical miles north-east of Sandy Cape, Queensland. Despite search efforts including aircraft from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), he was never found.
Such events have a profound psychological effect on shipmates. In 2008, on a ship two days out of Melbourne, the chief engineer hanged himself. This had such a bad effect on crew morale that a priest had to go aboard to give counselling.
Loss of crew stemming from mental illness, suicide or disappearance at sea can take ships out of service for several days, resulting in high unexpected costs for ship-owners. Large container ships, tankers and bulk carriers can cost US$10,000 per day or more to operate, plus fuel costs. In the case of 'Ocean Caesar', the vessel was delayed for several days while AMSA and the Queensland police investigated the master's disappearance, at significant extra cost to the owners and charterers.
In Australia, the "Mental Health of Seafarers" project is working to address this problem. Started by the Rotary Club of Melbourne South, working with the Melbourne Port Welfare Association, Beyondblue (Australia's National Depression Initiative), the Anglican Missions to Seafarers and the Catholic Apostleship of the Sea (Stella Maris), the project has produced a range of documents about the topic of depression. The booklets (for masters) and leaflets (for non-officers) are in four languages – English, Chinese, Tagalog and Russian – which cover 85 percent of all seafarers visiting Australia. They feature checklists to identify depressed seafarers, how they can be helped, and telephone hotline numbers for assistance.
Distribution by ship visitors from seafarer centres started in December 2009 in the ports of Melbourne, Geelong, Hastings, Portland and Pirie, and in September 2011 by ship's agents associated with Shipping Australia Ltd. and InchCape Shipping Services in Dampier, Hedland, Fremantle, Adelaide, Kembla, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gladstone, MacKay, Townsville and Cairns. Thus far the material has been put aboard about 2,000 ships, with the total expected to increase markedly with ship's agents also distributing the booklets and leaflets.
One booklet resulted in the chief officer of a large bulker seeking help from the Mission to Seafarers centre at the port of Portland because he was suffering from anxiety and depression. The mission's manager took him to a doctor where he received counselling and medication. According to anecdotal reports, other seafarers have sought help after reading one of the booklets or leaflets.
With deaths aboard ships by depression leading to suicide widely reported, the damage cannot be ignored. Everybody connected with international shipping needs to do something about it. The mental health of seafarers and the economic health of our industry will be improved as a result.
