GovWire

The MCA is pleased to announce the launch of the Wellbeing at Sea Tool, a new digital initiative designed to support seafarers health and wellbeing.

As part of the MCAs continued commitment to safer lives and safer ships, cleaner seas, this new tool has been designed to help the industry address the increasingly pressing issue of wellbeing at sea.

Seafarers work in unique environments, the characteristics of which can have a negative impact on their wellbeing and mental health. Research shows that poor employee wellbeing is consistently linked to greater accident and error rate, lower productivity, and increased absenteeism.

Prolonged periods at sea, isolated environments, noise and vibration, and separation from loved ones are just some of the wellbeing challenges seafarers face on a regular basis. Coupled with a workplace that includes inherent dangers, the importance of creating a strong safety culture cannot be underestimated.

The Wellbeing at Sea Tool is a digital survey that provides seafarers with personalised, practical wellbeing advice once completed. The anonymised data the survey collects is then shared with managers, enabling them to identify priority areas for improvements and highlight best practice.

Created by the Human Element team, in partnership with TSO, Snap Surveys, and the wider industry, the questions in the survey were initially developed by asking 197 seafarers 70 questions about their wellbeing, mental state, physical state, working conditions, and organisational culture.

After identifying which questions had the strongest correlation to overall wellbeing, a shortlist was created covering seven key areas: general wellbeing, bullying, harassment and discrimination, diversity and inclusion, physical health, tiredness and fatigue, and organisation support.

Ahead of the launch, four maritime organisations tested out the tool on board. Thousands of seafarers from Seatruck, Fleetship, DFDS, and Seacat Services trialled the digital survey, providing their opinion on format, layout, ease of use, and the value of use.

Feedback from the trial has been overwhelmingly positive, with 95% of respondents to a post pilot survey agreeing the wellbeing advice provided was helpful and emails were a useful reminder of that advice.

Katy Ware, Director of UK Maritime Services said:

There is sadly still a stigma around mental health. The fact seafarers still dont feel able to talk about it or access services says a lot about how far we still have to go in terms of reducing that taboo.

This is exactly why we have launched our Wellbeing at Sea Tool. By identifying stressors and issues at an early stage, we hope that the tool will help to reduce stress among seafarers which is a contributory factor to mental health problems.

We will be announcing the launch of the Wellbeing at Sea Tool with a press release to industry, supported by social media posts from MCA and UKSR channels. We encourage everyone to share these posts with their network so we can make as many seafarers as possible, and their employing companies, aware of the wellbeing support available.

A campaign microsite has also been created, where you can point anyone who is interested in finding our more about the tool, its feature, pricing and more.

Website: https://www.wellbeingseatool.com/