How to tackle harassment onboard

Pierre Aury has some suggestions to make life at sea fairer.

Whenever shipping is mentioned, outside shipping circles, it is always with the same clichés along the lines of shipping is the blood of the global economy or shipping carries over 90% of global trade volumes with the seaborne trade standing at around 11bn tons annually carried by around 55,000 vessels.

It is however very seldom that seafarers are mentioned. Today the number of crewmembers stands at around 2m on ships trading internationally. This number is comprised of about 0.9m officers and 1.1m ratings. If shipping was a country its population would rank 150th in the world on a total number of countries standing at 195. As a matter of comparison if shipping was a country for CO2 emissions it would rank sixth in the world. No wonder everybody cares about shipping emissions while nobody cares about crewmembers.

At the peak of the covid crisis about 400,000 seafarers were stranded on ships beyond the end of their original contracts due to travel restrictions. A similar number of seafarers were waiting at home, unable to join ships, most if not all of them unpaid.

As if seafarers were not already facing overall challenging conditions, including long periods away from family and physical and mental strain, a number of recent reports and articles have drawn our attention to harassment onboard.

Harassment on ships can take various forms, including verbal abuse, bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination.

Verbal abuse and bullying tend to come from higher-ranking individuals, making it hard for junior crewmembers to report them.

Sexual harassment, particularly affecting women, is another serious issue. Though women make up a small percentage of the seafaring workforce, they are the target of most unwanted advances and inappropriate behaviour.

Discrimination is common as well. Discriminatory behaviour can lead to exclusion or unfair treatment, further worsening the atmosphere onboard and creating division between crewmembers.

The impact of harassment is significant. Victims often suffer from mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and isolation.

The confined environment of a vessel leaves no for escape or support, making it harder for seafarers to cope. In extreme cases, the emotional toll can lead to long-term trauma or suicidal thoughts. Recent data are putting the percentage of deaths of seafarers due to suicide to an extremely high 11%. As a comparison the rate of suicide in countries like the UK and France was 1% of all deaths last year.

Harassment matters as well because it can create a climate of low morale with a lack of teamwork. This in turn makes accidents and errors more likely. Furthermore, high levels of harassment contribute to crew turnover at the time of a global shortage of qualified seafarers.

Shipping companies, managers, and crewing agencies need to act quickly. Several steps are essential:

Implementing clear policies: Shipping companies must establish and enforce strict anti-harassment policies, outlining clear definitions and reporting procedures.
Training and education: Regular training on harassment prevention and diversity awareness must take place at regular intervals.
Creating reporting channels: Confidential reporting lines must be established.
Providing mental health support: Shipping companies should partner with mental health professionals to provide support for affected crewmembers.
Promoting leadership accountability: Senior officers should be held accountable for addressing complaints quickly and helping develop a harassment-free environment.

But perhaps more should be done in selecting the right people before they embrace a career at sea. Some personal traits are likely to make an aspiring seafarer more suited than another one for a life at sea.