Standard Safety: Seafarer Wellbeing, October 2018

Over the last couple of years, the club has been working on a variety of projects related to seafarer wellbeing, culminating in this special edition.

Seafarer wellbeing is a holistic concept combining physical, mental and social wellbeing, and our mix of articles reflects this.

The Standard Club enhanced PEME scheme – three years of operation
The club’s PEME scheme has conducted thousands of PEME examinations since its establishment in 2015.
But what were the drivers which led to the creation of the scheme and what have we learned after nearly three years of the scheme’s operation?

Seafarer health and operational effectiveness
A combination of two or more chronic diseases may pose a high risk of impairing a seafarer’s ability to fulfil their role on board.
In this article, we look at some specific conditions and the ways these may affect the seafarer’s ability to carry out their duties or respond to an emergency situation.

You are what you eat
Food quality and quantity are key elements in ensuring the health of a seafarer. 
Has the introduction of the MLC had an impact on the quality of the food or the health of seafarers? And how do you make sure your crew eat the right quantity of the right things? Who should be providing the ship with provisions to ensure that it meets these needs? 

Our next three articles tackle these important issues.

Keeping in shape
A seafarer’s lifestyle choices will directly impact their health.
Exercise is a key component of this equation. Our next articles cover some example exercises that can be done on board ships, and look at ways to incentivise crews to do them. 

Mental wellbeing
It is a sad fact that despite the many advances in the area of seafarer welfare in the last 30 years, the number of seafarers suffering from mental illness is on the rise.
Our next two articles look at ways to address this trend, the impact of PTSD for seafarers and potential solutions through peer support.

The risks and rewards of seafaring in the digital age
It is impossible to ignore how much the proliferation of the internet and social media has changed the way people interact and communicate. Seafarers are not immune to these changes.
How has the introduction of internet on board ships changed the social cohesion between seafarers?

The human element – the effects of fatigue on ship safety
The human element is often cited as a major cause of marine incidents.
Fatigue is the main contributory factor in such incidents. 82% of the recorded groundings and collisions occurring between 0000 and 0600 hours are caused by fatigue.
It is therefore paramount for all seafarers to fully understand fatigue, how it is caused and what can be done to prevent or at least minimise its effects.