Working as a seafarer on a ship involves considerable stress. The number of working hours is often much higher than in onshore jobs. External influences like vibration, noise and waves cannot be suppressed. Spare time has to be spent ‘at work’, and being away from home for long periods can have a negative influence on well-being.
Stress is omnipresent in the life of seafarers. The above-mentioned are just some examples of stressors to which seafarers are exposed. Travelling restrictions caused by measures intended to minimise the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during this pandemic have put a lot of extra pressure on seafarers. Many workers in the maritime field had to postpone their return home several times. Not being able to support family members in this difficult situation, running out of medication, or the fear of having to deal with an infection at sea were concerns mentioned in the surveys conducted.
For this reason, data were collected on seafarers’ coping strategies in terms of traditional seafaring hardships and the special challenge of the pandemic, and these data were fed into and distributed through the e-learning platform "crewhealthy" (see results). The contents address a range of stressors including anxiety, phobia, fear, nightmares and the pandemic situation. They also involve a variety of media, from movies to information leaflets and apps.
The in-depth information on "crewhealthy" also contained a paper (agreed by a wide range of public health institutions in the City and State of Hamburg, Germany), gathering advice for crews in terms of the “Prevention and Management of COVID-19 Outbreaks on Merchant Ships”.
