Four in 10 seafarers unwilling to report serious safety concerns

Photo: Allianz

More than four in 10 seafarers either do not feel safe raising a serious concern at sea or are unsure whether they could do so without repercussions, according to a new five-year review of crew welfare standards.

The finding is among the starkest in five Years into the Code of Conduct: What’s Changed for Seafarers?, published this week by the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, the Institute for Human Rights and Business, the Mission to Seafarers, the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, RightShip and TURTLE.

Just 59% of seafarers surveyed say they would feel safe raising a serious concern without fear of consequences, exposing a sizeable trust gap at a time when shipping continues to talk up safety culture and the importance of speaking up onboard.

The report contrasts seafarer experiences with data from RightShip’s Crew Welfare Self-Assessment, which has now been completed by more than 1,000 companies covering over 13,000 vessels and around 300,000 seafarers.Among participating companies, welfare standards are improving.

Fair terms of employment score 90% attainment, while crewing reaches 88%. Internet charges are also falling, with the proportion of participating companies charging seafarers for access dropping from 18.4% in 2024 to 8.5% this year.

However, surveys of seafarers paint a less comfortable picture across the wider fleet.Only 49% say there were enough crew onboard during their most recent contract to work safely without excessive fatigue or breaches of agreed rest hours.Mental health support is similarly patchy. Some 56% say confidential support is available and that they would feel safe using it. Another 17% have access but would not feel comfortable doing so, while 27% report having no access at all.

Crew wellbeing remains the weakest-performing area among companies using the RightShip assessment, with attainment at 76%, although mental health training has risen from 64% to 76% since 2024.

Ellie Besley-Gould, chief executive of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, said the evidence shows that better welfare standards are achievable but remain far from universal.“The evidence from the last five years points in two directions,” she said. “It shows that good welfare can be delivered but those standards are not yet part of daily life for many seafarers.”

The report argued that charterers, cargo owners, insurers and financiers now need to make crew welfare a more visible part of commercial decision-making.

Source : Splash 247               Sam Chambers