Mind Matters

Life at sea can be stressful. The nature of the job demands prolonged periods away from family, long hours, with limited social time.

Add to that the sometimes-pressured work environment, unwelcome news from home or a traumatic incident on-board and it’s easy to see why seafarers can become stressed, anxious or depressed.

Belinda Ward, Director of personal injury claims at Newcastle based marine insurance provider, North P&I Club, discusses North’s role in supporting the wellbeing of seafarers both at sea and ashore.

Mental health issues can lead to low morale, poor concentration and increased susceptibility to illness and injury. It is now recognised that the mental welfare of seafarers is just as important as their physical wellbeing.

As a marine insurer North provides cover against risk and loss at sea, offering immediate technical, legal and professional support and we are fully aware of the impact mental health issues can have, not only for the crew member but for their family, friends and colleagues. The knock-on effects can lead to severely degraded job performance which may put colleagues or the vessel at risk. In extreme cases it can erupt in violence on board, sometimes fatal, or crew self-harm and even suicide.

For the last two years North has been running ‘Mind Matters’ a support campaign aimed at ship owners and operators, and their crew. The campaign was developed in response to the increasing number of claims North was receiving from mental health related incidents on board ships.

Overall, the campaign is helping to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing at sea, providing the crew aboard North’s insured ships with resources and guidance materials to support their emotional wellbeing at sea and ashore. An important part of the campaign is the confidential crew helpline ‘Mind Call’ which was launched in partnership with the International Seafarer’s Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN). The crew helpline is to crew on board the ships North insures 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Mind Call team speaks several languages, making the experience as comfortable as possible for seafarers.

It is estimated that one in four people will be affected by mental health problems at some point in their lives, therefore we are striving to ensure that the people who are integral to making maritime world trade happen have access to the help and resources they need.