By Parnita Rasal, Senior Psychologist, Anglo-Eastern Maritime Training Centre
10 October marks World Mental Health Day, observed annually to raise awareness and mobilise efforts in support of mental health. This year’s theme, “Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies”, highlights the importance of timely and effective access to psychological services, especially during emergencies. This article explores mental health support for seafarers in times of crisis.
A turning point in seafarer rights
In a landmark decision earlier this year, the International Labour Convention officially recognised seafarers as ‘key workers’. Following the April 2025 revision of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) introduced several improvements to seafarers’ lives:
- Enhanced access to medical care and travel
- Stronger protections for wellbeing
- New provisions to prevent violence, harassment, and bullying
These changes go beyond policy—they represent a commitment to dignity and care.
Workplace challenges and mental health impacts
Seafarers face a range of stressors, including: public health emergencies (e.g. disease outbreaks), natural disasters (e.g. storms, rough seas, fires), human-caused incidents (e.g. collisions, piracy), daily operational pressures, sleep deprivation, and isolation, bullying and harassment, large-scale catastrophes (e.g. oil spills, vessel sinking).
These cumulative challenges can lead to anxiety, depression, and hopelessness; psychological trauma and insecurity; isolation and reduced social interaction; survivor’s guilt and PTSD; cognitive decline due to prolonged stress; suicidal ideation in extreme cases. The emotional toll often leaves lasting psychological scars.
Building resilience through self-care
Despite the challenges, proactive self-care can protect mental health. Recommended strategies include:
- Physical activity: Exercise, yoga, stretching, walking
- Mindfulness: Meditation and breathing techniques
- Sleep hygiene: Prioritising rest over screen time
- Meaningful connections: Engaging with family beyond operational talk
- Hobbies: Music, writing, dance
- Peer support: Buddy systems, empathy, and cultural sensitivity
These practices foster resilience and help maintain emotional balance during long voyages.
Psychological support in times of crisis
Mental health care during emergencies must be immediate, sensitive, and sustained. Key interventions include:
- Immediate support: Helping colleagues regulate breathing and remain calm
- Post-crisis debriefing: Acknowledging fear, loss, and emotional impact
- Monitoring wellbeing: Observing changes in sleep, appetite, and behaviour
Expanded access to services should include:
- Psychological first aid and emergency preparedness training
- Emotional resilience workshops
- Tele-mental health and shore-based counselling
- 24/7 access to psychological professionals
Anglo-Eastern’s in-house initiatives
At Anglo-Eastern, we have always prioritised the wellbeing of our cadets and seafarers. At the Anglo-Eastern Maritime Academy (AEMA)., the cadet’s mental wellbeing is supported through various counselling, training, and group intervention initiatives. For seafarers, our training centres enhance knowledge on the handling of issues related to mental health, psychological safety, and interpersonal relationships. Their wellbeing continues to be a focus even when they are onboard, with support from the wellbeing team with diverse background in HR, psychology, sociology, legal, social work and analytics.
Through our in-house wellbeing initiative WE Care which consists of more than 60 innovative wellbeing activities, we enable our seafarers to find the right balance by providing solutions that integrate wellbeing into their daily work and culture while supporting business goals. Our customised well-being initiatives meet the unique needs of every seafarer, creating a supportive work environment and driving business growth. Our various platforms for emotional, mental and physical wellbeing support have provided accessible features for seafarers, making a meaningful impact over the last three years.
To strengthen the bonds, various initiatives such as Buddy System, gatherings, celebrating festivals and birthdays have been introduced and followed. We hold regular featured webinars on topics such as emotional eating, social wellbeing, and existential crises, achieving high participation of 4,000 seafarers since 2022 and positive feedback on the 25 webinars held since 2022.
Our seafarers are supported at each level in their journey, as we strongly believe in mental wellbeing. From 2022 to 2024, 9,300 seafarers and 36,000 families were connected through wellbeing intervention programmes.
A shared responsibility
Mental health is a collective responsibility. By promoting awareness, offering training, and creating safe spaces for dialogue, we can build a culture of care across the maritime sector.
Whether at sea or ashore, proactive self-care and social care are essential.
Let us honour World Mental Health Day by committing to the wellbeing of our seafarers and shore teams. Mental health is vital – not only for safety and productivity, but for the resilience of global maritime operations.
Contributor: Parnita Rasal is a seasoned psychologist with over 14 years of professional experience, including nine years dedicated to the maritime industry. She specialises in applying psychological principles to enhance human performance and safety, bridging psychology, human factors, and maritime training. She holds master’s degrees in Industrial Organisational Psychology and Counselling Psychology, along with a diploma in Human Resource Management.
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