Indian seafarers will benefit from mental health training, thanks to a new agreement signed by the country and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).
Under the agreement, ‘Mental Health Awareness for Indian Seafarers’, signed recently in India, training will be provided to maritime education faculty members leading to the incorporation of a stress management module into the country’s national maritime curriculum.
India’s director general of shipping, Shyam Jaganathan, said there were growing concerns over mental health issues facing seafarers and that there was a need for a safe and supportive environment for maritime professionals, particularly cadets and students.
“In recent times, we have witnessed an increase in mental health challenges faced by Indian seafarers aboard ships, including some unfortunate cases of suicide. The wellbeing and mental health of our seafarers are of paramount importance to us,” he said.
The initiative seeks to create an enabling environment for cadets and seafarers to openly discuss mental health issues without stigma and with access to necessary services and support. By addressing these concerns early in a seafarer’s career, the initiative aims to build resilience and promote a healthy work environment at sea.
In recent years, Indian seafarers have faced particularly acute challenges due to the high number of employees facing abandonment. In 2023, more Indian seafarers were abandoned than any other nationality.
ITF Global Inspectorate Coordinator, Steve Trowsdale, said the inclusion of the module would raise awareness about mental health among young seafarers.
“It will also equip them with the tools to manage stress, particularly during their first postings on ships, a time that is often fraught with challenges and adjustment issues.”
Research has established that seafarers face a range of mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.
In 2019, the ITF Seafarers’ Trust and Yale University released a study that found that 25% of surveyed seafarers had scores suggesting depression, 17% suggesting anxiety, with 20% of surveyed seafarers reporting suicidal ideation. It recommended that “maritime training institutes should address seafarers’ mental health issues and train for resilience”.
This latest initiative comes after the ITF secured a ground-breaking agreement for mental health training in Indonesia last year. It targeted 200 instructors, lecturers and government officials, while the union also led a ‘train the trainer’ session for 23 faculty members from ten maritime universities across seven countries on or near the Black Sea – Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Montenegro, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.
