Seafarer Happiness Index Shows Negative Impact of COVID-19

Seafarer Happiness Index Shows Negative Impact of COVID-19

The Mission to Seafarers today published its latest Seafarer Happiness Index, which it said revealed the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of international seafarers and their families.

The Mission stated that according to the announcement, the seafarer community is in the midst of a mental health crisis. It said the report shows the continuing decline of happiness at sea, largely due to the inability of seafarers to sign off and return home. Heavy workloads, virus fears and a perceived lack of COVID-19 precautions on board vessels are exacerbating the decline in satisfaction. Without immediate action, there are significant risks for the mental and physical wellbeing of crew and a growing risk to safety.

The latest survey, undertaken in association with the Shipowners’ Club and the Wallem Group, examines the experiences of seafarers across the global maritime industry between April and June 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, seafarer happiness has dropped from 6.30 in Q1 2020 to 6.18 in Q2 2020.

Among the different categories of ships, cruise ships ranked relatively low on the Index, around 6.0.