The challenges seafarers face can only be addressed jointly

The issues of mental health and well-being of seafarers, the empowerment of women in maritime shipping, the transition to alternative fuels and the safe vessels demolition were the main topics of the 38th Asian Seafarers Summit Meeting, held in New Delhi (India) in late February. It was attended by 62 delegates from 11 countries. The delegation of the Seafarers' Union of  Russia headed by the SUR President Yury Sukhorukov represented the interests of Russian seafarers.  

One of the key topics were issues related to the empowerment of women in maritime shipping. As is known, gender equality in the shipping industry is considered the key to economic sustainability and human performance improvement. However, despite international efforts to encourage more women in shipping industry, there are still very few women-seafarers.

The Seafarers' Union of  Russia notes that, according to estimates of experts, women represent just 2% of the global crew members. That is why it is crucial for women to voice their concerns and have the opportunity to express their position on behalf of the union. “The transport industry really needs changes to attract and retain women. Only active involvement will prevent increasing the gender gap and the pay gap,” - the SUR believes.

Another equally serious topic was the well-being of seafarers. As we know, life on board has its own peculiarities. Long working hours,  physically demanding jobs and prolonged isolation away from home require good physical and mental health, which is why caring for well-being is of paramount importance not only for the individual seafarer, but also for the efficient and safe operation of the entire vessel. Fortunately, the maritime industry is taking steps to address these issues. In particular, many vessels have gyms with treadmills, stationary bikes and free weights. Some shipowners encourage sports competitions among crew members, others provide telemedicine services. 

According to the seafarers - SUR members, the level of well-being could be significantly improved by facilitating the shore leave procedure, because shore leave is not a luxury, but a vital opportunity for rest and stress relief.

- Many of the seafarers applying to the SUR say they feel isolated and frustrated due to limited shore  access. This leads to stress, - the Union notes.

The Seafarers' Union of Russia emphasizes that the well-being of crew members is a matter of high priority for many reasons. Steady stress, excessive workload, lack of shore leave opportunities to have rest from watches have an extremely negative impact on the mental wellbeing of seafarers, lead to fatigue and increase the risk of human errors and potential incidents. Therefore, states and shipowners should take this problem seriously and provide all opportunities for proper rest, shore leave and timely crew change. 

It should be added that Seafarers' Union of Russia is a member of the Asian Seafarers Summit, and therefore regularly participates in its meetings. Its main tasks within the summit are to regulate the working conditions of Russian seafarers employed on board Japanese owners vessels and to develop cooperation with Asian trade unions in order to provide effective assistance to the members of Seafarers' Union of Russia in Asian ports, primarily Japan and South Korea. 

In the course of the summit events, representatives of the Seafarers' Union of Russia delegation held working meetings with colleagues from Singapore, Japan, Norway, and Indonesia, where they discussed issues of cooperation and assistance to Russian seafarers faced troubles in the ports of these countries.

— Unity and solidarity run through the entire summit, — Vadim Ivanov, Seafarers' Union of Russia Vice President, outlined.

It should be noted that the 30th meeting of the Norwegian/Asian Seafarers' Committee (NASCO) has been held in New Delhi either. It discussed issues concerning employment of crew members of various nationalities on board Norwegian shipowners' vessels. In particular, Norwegian shipowners told, that they expect 190 newbuildings in the near future.

They also confirmed, that still hire primarily Russian officers on vessels of the Norwegian International (Second) Ship Register and flag of convenience vessels. 

For your reference, it should be noted that a total of 804 and 982 jobs have been created for Russians aboard NIS and flag of convenience vessels, respectively. Given the number of replacements, it means that there are about 3,572 jobs available for maritime professionals from Russia. Russians are followed by Ukrainians, Poles, Latvians and Croatians.