Rate of Suicide is the Highest Among Seafarers Compare to other Profession. Here is why ? Part 2

Loneliness

(Image Source:Google)

There is no doubt that loneliness creates problems for seafarers. Lefevere [32] quotes the 80-year-old Brazilian priest Fr. Mario Bilbi: “Loneliness is a seafarer’s heaviest cross, the Brazilian priest said, noting that many seafarers are away from home up to 10 months. It’s the presence of God and the thought of their families that is awakened at sea, especially at night when you’re alone on the bridge. What you see is darkness. What you hear is the talk of the waves.“showed that the main psychological problems were primarily caused by long periods away from home, social isolation and its effects on seafarers, the decreased number of seamen per ship, and increased automatization”.

Separation from spouse and families 

(Image Source:Google)

One of the first things that seafarers do when visiting any port is to head for a bank of computer consoles they can use to communicate with their spouses and families at home. There is no charge to use these computers and it is not unusual on any evening to see banks of 5 to 20 computers (in the five different centres) completely filled with seafarers using Skype to see and talk with their families. Many use centres facilities to wire money home to families. By the way in the recent years ,a few ship owners allow some crew members to have their families on board to overcome mental breakdowns onboard ship . 

Lack of shore leave

(Image Source:Google)

Remarkably, shore leave levels have averaged only between 20–25% per ship. There are a number of factors beyond turn around times that account for this low percentage: working, need for rest, lack of a US visa, and depression. The implementation of TWIC (Transportation Workers Identification Certificate) will restrict any crew members who currently walk through a terminal to the gate for shore leave.”The crews also have trouble getting shore leave for example in several U.S. ports for a variety of reasons, some relating to U.S. Coast Guard security regulations, others relating to ship turn around times and the difficulty of simply getting to the dockyard gate from the berthing area.

The rise of multinational crews: making it difficult to form a strong bond

(Image Source:Google)

The majority of shipping companies employ multinational crew, which introduces its own set of problems such as the language barrier and group formation leading to cultural isolation. Reduced common language and shared culture means that it’s becoming more difficult for crews to communicate with each other in a meaningful way.

The happiness and mental welfare of a crew often depends on how well they get on and work together and if there are language barriers and a lack of shared cultural references, it can be very difficult for crews to form a strong bond. Sadly, as a result there’s less familiarity working together and it’s less likely that crew feel that they ‘know’ their colleagues.

(Source)
https://www.martek-marine.com/blog/mental-health-problems-at-sea-a-storm-is-brewing/

https://www.he-alert.org/filemanager/root/site_assets/standalone_article_pdfs_1220-/he01320.pdf