NorthStandard’s “Mind Matters at Sea” is a comprehensive crew care program designed to support the emotional well-being of seafarers. The program aims to address the significant challenge of mental health issues in the maritime industry, which are estimated to affect one in four seafarers at some point in their careers.
The Impact of Mental Health at Sea
Mental health issues, particularly depression, can have severe consequences for seafarers and their colleagues. These can manifest as:
- Low morale and poor concentration.
- Increased susceptibility to illness and injury, potentially leading to lost time or repatriation.
- More alarmingly, they can escalate to on-board violence, self-harm, and suicide.
Conversely, improved mental well-being is linked to a range of positive outcomes, including reduced health risks, improved physical health and life expectancy, and increased productivity.
Mind Call at Sea: A Confidential Helpline
A key component of the “Mind Matters at Sea” program is Mind Call at Sea, a confidential and dedicated emotional support helpline. This service, provided in partnership with the seafarer’s charity ISWAN, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year to seafarers on NorthStandard-entered vessels.
The Mind Call team offers multilingual support, speaking a total of 13 languages, including:
- Arabic
- English
- Tagalog
- French
- Hindi
- Italian
- Lithuanian
- Mandarin
- Polish
- Punjabi
- Russian
- Spanish
- Urdu
Seafarers Happiness Index
NorthStandard is a proud sponsor of the Seafarers Happiness Index, a quarterly survey founded by Mission to Seafarers in 2015. The survey is designed to gauge seafarer sentiment by asking a series of 10 questions covering various aspects of their lives, such as mental and physical well-being, general working conditions, internet connectivity, and family contact.
The survey is distributed globally to seafarers on different types of vessels and those on shore. The findings are made publicly available online and shared with key industry decision-makers, providing valuable insights into the state of seafarer welfare and helping to drive positive change across the maritime sector.
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Source: North Standard
