Wellness at Sea: Promoting onboard health and well-being

By choosing to be person-centred instead of problem-centred, the programme focuses on people - the centre point around which the industry revolves.

Sailors’ Society, an international charity which supports merchant seafarers and their families, recently launched Wellness at Sea, a coaching programme designed to help seafarers look after their health and well-being on-board.

Wellness at Sea was developed in response to a call from the industry to address the issue of poor mental health and the associated risks that can arise as a result of a life at sea. The vast majority of incidents occurring at sea are often attributed to human error, a term that disguises a variety of underlying problems.

Fatigue, poor mental health, stress and many other issues can all affect seafarers going about their daily work. They can be the difference between safe transit and a major incident, the effects of which lead to crew attrition, risks in safety and efficiency, and costly re-routing of ships.

Sailors’ Society recognised the need for a programme which seeks to combat these physical and mental health issues by addressing wellness as a holistic concept made up of five specific areas of well-being: Social, Emotional, Physical, Intellectual and Spiritual.

Building on pioneering work into mental health and the unique social environment of the ship, and with an advisory group made up of industry leaders, Wellness at Sea is well placed to equip participants with the tools they need to maintain good general wellness at sea, alongside more familiar skills competence. The programme is aimed at early identification of mental health issues before they impact on seafarers’ lives and the safety of the ship and its cargo, imparting knowledge and skills to equip those responsible for seafarers at sea.

Problems such as loneliness and separation from friends and family lead to many seafarers abandoning a seagoing career. By identifying these problems early and empowering masters and senior officers to deal with them as they arise, there is a much better chance of solving this problem.

Historically, training of seafarers has been focused on occupational skills, while welfare services have mostly been reactive, coming into play only once a problem arises. Wellness at Sea introduces a philosophy which argues that, to ably steer a ship from point A to point B, you also need cultural competence, emotional intelligence, social skills and spiritual well-being to name just a few.

The course is available at two levels: an Officer Programme and a Cadet Programme. Initially, Wellness at Sea Project Manager Johan Smith will run the course in five international locations: South Africa, Namibia, China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, providing coaching in each of the five areas of wellness and empowering attendees to pass on the lessons they have learned to crew- mates and others under their command.

The programme consists of five modules based on the five areas of well-being. Participants will engage in practical and theoretical exercises exploring a range of issues including communication and managing conflict in the workplace, mental health identification and support, fitness on board, and basic seafarers’ rights.

Wellness at Sea is designed to fill a vital need by recognising the importance to safety of a crew whose mental and spiritual needs are met. By choosing to be person-centred instead of problem- centred, the programme focuses on people - the centre point around which the industry revolves.

For more information visit: www.sailors-society.org/wellness