Impact on seafarers of extreme events: A case study arising out of the situation in Ukraine

Abstract

Background: Maritime transportation is the lifeblood of the world’s economy. However, seafarers are exposed to isolated, confined and particularly extreme environments. Maritime operations in the face of geopolitical conflicts profoundly impact seafarers’ mental health, well-being and safety.

Materials and methods: The study comprises 27 seafarer interviews and 21 stakeholder interviews covering 4 maritime education and training institutions, 11 crewing agencies, 4 medical facilities and 2 maritime authorities. An online questionnaire survey of seafarers who were affected by the conflict in Ukraine and had sailed in the conflict zone in the period 24 February 2022 to 30 September 2023 yielded 319 valid responses.

Results: The study suggests that seafarers in the conflict zone are exposed to constant imminent threats to personal safety, constant stress and anxiety, prolonged lack of sleep, limited opportunities of contact with families, and high risk to mental health among other things further exacerbated by a lack of mental health support from company, and anxiety resulting from loss of access to shore-based training facilities and uncertainty in updating competency certificates.

Conclusions: The study presents rare insights on the psychological and emotional toll on seafarers who continue to serve the critical needs of the maritime transportation industry in a newly ordained role as keyworkers. This study underscores the need for improved mental health support and counselling services within the maritime industry, in particular, maritime stakeholders likely affected by geopolitical conflicts.

Highlights: From the practical perspective, this is among the first studies to focus on the mental health and well-being of seafarers arising out of the situation in Ukraine since 24 February 2022. From the theoretical perspective, this is a maiden study attempting an exploration of social conditions in three different dimensions by integrating three distinct theoretical constructs namely, UN Human Security Framework, Holmes & Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale and ILO Maritime Labour Convention framework.