International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance ... - ISWAN€¦ · The ISWAN Board of Trustees agreed the following strategic objectives for ISWAN for 2016-2019: ... Our web-based

International Seafarers’Welfare and AssistanceNetwork2018-19 Annual Review

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Chairman: International Seafarers’Welfare and Assistance Network

I am delighted to present this new annual review of ISWAN for the financialyear 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. This is the first time we have producedthis annual review to include all the programmes of ISWAN and not justSeafarerHelp. Of course, SeafarerHelp is the main programme of ISWANemploying ten of the staff team and is the major recipient of funding. However, at the beginning of the year a new grant funder, the TrafiguraFoundation, agreed to fund the Regional Programme of ISWAN for threeyears. This means that we are able to secure the future of our presence inthe Philippines, India and Nigeria that are important areas of the world for themaritime industry. We are, of course, extremely grateful for the support of ourlong term funders: the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, The TK Foundation andSeafarers UK, who have continued to fund SeafarerHelp. We are alsograteful for the support of our sponsors and members, who havesubstantially grown over the past years.One of the highlights of the year for me was the seminar on seafarers’welfare that ISWAN held in Helsinki in November 2018. The seminar washeld alongside the AGM and members’ meeting. The theme of the seminarwas working in partnership, a concept that ISWAN is keen to promote. Theseminar attracted an audience of nearly one hundred participants from allover the world and heard from a wide range of quality speakers from Finlandand other countries. On partnerships we are keen to deepen and extend ourrelationships with shipowners and managers, unions, P&I Clubs, and otherwelfare organisations in 2019/20. Another notable achievement was thedevelopment of our work on mental wellbeing, an increasing issue of concernin the maritime world and the wider community. The ISWAN self-help guideson mental wellbeing gained a lot of attention from shipping and shipmanagement companies during the year. Over the coming year ISWANintends to carry out a lot more work in this area including developing atraining course on mental health awareness. ISWAN will also beimplementing a new three-year strategy that will focus on securing the longterm future of the organisation and will also seek to expand our influence and profile. I am also particularly pleased that, in the IMO’s year of womenempowerment, 30% of the ISWAN Board of Trustees are women. Of coursea lot more needs to be done on this issue in the industry but at least ISWANhas made a good start.I am looking forward to another successful year of ISWAN supporting thewelfare and wellbeing of seafarers and their families.

Per GullestrupOctober 2019

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About ISWANThe International Seafarers’ Welfare and AssistanceNetwork (ISWAN) is an international non-governmentalorganisation (NGO) and UK-registered charity that promotesthe welfare of seafarers worldwide. ISWAN is a membershiporganisation with members from across a broad section ofthe maritime industry. These include the InternationalChamber of Shipping, the International Transport Workers’Federation, and the International Christian MaritimeAssociation. Other members include welfare organisations,shipping and ship management companies, and unions.ISWAN also works in partnership with governmentagencies, ports, P&I Clubs, and others to enhance thewellbeing of seafarers and their families all over the world.This annual report covers the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

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Strategic objectives set for 2016-19The ISWAN Board of Trustees agreed the following strategicobjectives for ISWAN for 2016-2019:• Provide a multi-channel helpline available 24 hours per day,

every day of the year, accessible from anywhere in theworld via all available media

• Maintain access to adequate funds available at short noticefor disbursement to seafarers and their families in need

• Support the establishment of port welfare facilities andservices, including national and local welfare boards, tomeet the welfare needs of seafarers

• Provide and promote innovative health campaigns toseafarers

• Expand the network of international organisations, fundinginstitutions and companies that can assist ISWAN inpursuance of its aims, including through the developmentand publication of information and guidance

• Promote the work of ISWAN throughout the shippingcommunity to recognise best welfare practices and continueto grow the organisation’s membership

• Increase the unrestricted voluntary and grant funding ofISWAN and diversify the funding base so there is lessreliance on a small number of funders

ISWAN achieves the strategic objectives by running a rangeof programmes and projects.

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SeafarerHelp is a global,independent, freeand confidentialhelpline for allseafarers and theirfamilies, available24 hours a day.

SeafarerHelp is a free, confidential,multilingual helpline for seafarersand their families available 24 hoursa day, 365 days per year. TheSeafarerHelp team is here to helpseafarers whatever their issue,wherever in the world they are. We are contacted by seafarers andtheir families about a range of issues every day. Problems include non-payment of wages, bullying andharassment, issues with repatriation,general contractual disputes,requests for information and much more. The SeafarerHelp team comprisesten workers, half of the ISWAN staff,and each of them speaks Englishand one or more other languagesfluently. Between them the teammembers speak about 11 languagesfluently, including most of those usedby seafarers, such as Filipino, Hindi,Russian, Mandarin Chinese andArabic. They can also communicateeffectively in several otherlanguages and dialects. TheSeafarerHelp team works from theISWAN offices in Croydon, southLondon in the United Kingdom. The SeafarerHelp service isconfidential and free for seafarersand their families of any nationalityor religion and we will try to assistthem with any problem they mayhave. Over recent years our servicehas changed in that we now go outof our way to provide emotionalsupport, including a counsellingservice where it is needed.

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Over recent years the types of casesthat the SeafarerHelp team deal withhave become more complex. Theteam do not know if the next contactis going to be a simple request forinformation or a difficult case whereseafarers have been injured or killedor if it will be assisting a seafarer andfamily who have been traumatisedby piracy.We work with seafarers to try andresolve their problems and we willonly refer cases to a particularorganisation with the seafarer’sexpress consent. For every situation, we do our best to balance the individual’s needs and requirements to achieve a positive outcome for them.The SeafarerHelp team deal withmany of the cases in-house.However, where there are issuesabout breach of contract or wherethere is a need for someone to visitthe seafarer, we refer those cases toour colleagues in specialist agenciesthat are in the port or country wherethe seafarer is located. In this way,we help the seafarer receive themost appropriate support to meettheir need. The agencies that we work with aremostly specialists in the maritimesector and have shore-basedpersonnel in ports around the world.This enables them to give valuable,direct personal support to theseafarers. Most of our referrals areto the International Transport

Workers’ Federation (ITF), localunions and port welfare providerssuch as the Apostleship of the Sea,Mission to Seafarers, the Sailors’Society and the DeutscheSeemannsmission. The team are proactive and flexibleso where these maritime specialistsdo not have a presence in thecountry the seafarer is in, we willcontact other organisations such asembassies, consulates, harbour orport authorities and medical serviceproviders to gain assistance for theseafarer. We are very happy to work inpartnership with a wide range oforganisations and gratefullyrecognise the help that they provideto both seafarers and theSeafarerHelp team. We keep a record of every contactthat we receive – the first contact islogged on our database and is calledthe initial contact. Any furthercontacts from that seafarer or anyother person about the same caseare logged individually on thedatabase and are called successivecontacts. In this way, we can easilyfollow the history of each case andwe can gather useful information onissues such as preferred methods ofcontact, most frequent issues raised,the nationality of seafarers and otheruseful data. In this review, all figuresrelate to initial contacts, unlessspecifically stated otherwise.

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Service enhancementsThe new Salesforce casemanagement system wasimplemented on 1 April 2019. Theimplementation took longer thanplanned but the new system willallow for the faster production ofreports and more detailed analysis of cases. ISWAN’s data protectionpolicy was updated because of theimplementation of the new GeneralData Protection Regulation (GDPR)regulations.All the SeafarerHelp helplineservices are available through arange of media, including telephone,email, WhatsApp, Facebook, LiveChat, Skype, Twitter and SMS text. The current system forms a moderndigital system through which we can communicate with and serveseafarers via whatever channel they prefer. Our web-based software allows us to take call content and the LiveChat service, and integrate it withresource referral, scheduling andstaff and volunteer management.However, we are in the process ofundertaking a feasibility study to lookat enhancements to the service.

Staff development It is important to SeafarerHelp to beable to develop the skills within thestaff team. We have a talented,professional and committed groupworking for ISWAN, and we look toimprove skills and capabilitiesthrough training and developmentactivities. As such, in 2018/19 we have beencommissioning and providingappropriate training sessions inkeeping with the changing needs ofseafarers. We have also organisedannual ‘awaydays’ and staff surveys.This helps us to improve our serviceand the quality of the working life ofour staff. It also shows that we listen and canrespond the concerns that the teammay raise. Our SeafarerHelp staffare on the frontline and it isvital that we are able totranslate their insight intoimprovements – whetherto the service we provideor to our managementfunctions.

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Influence andengagement We have been raising awareness ofthe helpline by speaking at a greaternumber of relevant conferences andseminars, and we are also rolling outnew initiatives within the ISWANmembership. The aims have been to increasevisits to the SeafarerHelp website, to generate more followers onTwitter, and to enhance engagementthrough Facebook and other socialmedia platforms. We have alsosought to increase coverage in themaritime and mainstream press. One of the challenges forSeafarerHelp is to ensure that weare better able to produce humaninterest stories relating to theexperiences ofseafarers. Obviously,this must be donein a sensitive

and anonymous way, and we areexploring the best approach togenerating the narratives from theseafarers who turn to us for help,guidance, advice and support.

Calendar yearstatistical overview ISWAN has now adopted a newreporting system, with data from thefinancial year 1 April 2018 to 31March 2019.

“We really don’t knowwho are you but youare helping us. We willbe thankful to you allour life.” – Seafarer

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Key statistics: • The SeafarerHelp team:

a) Provided assistance free ofcharge 24 hours per day, 365days per year, to seafarers andtheir families in their ownlanguage as required.

b) Dealt with 3260 new cases,involving 8111 seafarers andtheir families. In addition, wereceived a further 4652successive contacts.

c) Handled approximately 32different types of issues raised by seafarers.

d) Helped seafarers of 91 differentnationalities making contactfrom 126 different countries. 25 of these nationalities werefrom the Commonwealth

• The average time spent on a callfor new contacts was 33 minutes.

• Female seafarers accounted for6% of those who contactedSeafarerHelp, where gender wasknown, doubling from 3% in2017/18.

• Of the 91 nationalities assisted, thelargest numbers of seafarers wereFilipinos, followed by Indians,Ukrainians, and Russians.

• The most common reasons forseafarers contacting us were:seeking employment, wages notbeing paid, requesting information,problems over repatriation, healthproblems and contract problems.

• The top five flag states of thevessels we were contacted fromwere Panama, Marshall Islands,Malta, Liberia and Bahamas. Thismirrors the share of the globalfleet, so it is perhaps unsurprising.

• Many cases we received involvedmore than one issue and so had tobe referred to more than oneorganisation. While we dealt withmost contacts in-house we alsoreferred cases to recruitmentorganisations, the ITF Co-ordinators/Inspectors, the ITFSeafarer Support team, theApostleship of the Sea, thePhilippines Overseas EmploymentAdministration and the Mission toSeafarers.

• Live Chat proved to be the mostpopular method of contact, withsome 23% using this method toengage initially.

2641

4787

7428

3260

4652

7912

New cases Successive Total Total Successive New cases contacts contacts contacts contacts

2018/92017/8

Across the reporting period (1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019), theSeafarerHelp team dealt with 3260 (2641) new cases and handled 4652(4787) successive contacts making the total number of contacts 7912 (7428).The figures in brackets are the corresponding figures for 2017/18.

2018-19 caseload overview

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New cases are counted as the firstcontact for the case and successivecontacts are all contacts made afterthe first contact. There was a slightdrop in the number of seafarersassisted from 8232 in 2017/18 downto 8111. The number of seafarersassisted is an unpredictable statisticthat depends on the type of issuereported to SeafarerHelp – forinstance a problem with non-payment of wages normally affectsthe whole crew while other kinds ofissues, such as problems at home,may affect one seafarer onboard.The SeafarerHelp team is spendinglonger on individual cases. The teamhas been trained to provideemotional support and to undertakesuicide risk assessments. In 2018/19the percentage of cases that were

being provided with emotionalsupport increased to 9.28%compared to 6.53% in the previousyear. This is a reflection of ISWANrecognising the increase in mentalhealth issues and training its team to assist, support and assessseafarers that find themselves insuch situations.We also believe that providing abetter service means that seafarersare finding it easier to talk in-depth to the SeafarerHelp team. Addingthe initial and successive contactstogether there were a total of 7912contacts in 2018/19 which was anincrease of 6.5% from 7428 in2017/18. The average time taken indealing with each new contact was33 minutes.

A seafarer e-mailed SeafarerHelpwhile he was at sea, wanting to talkconfidentially with someone. He hadbeen having relationship problemsand was getting a divorce in acountry where it was illegal. He saidhe had suffered emotional abusefrom his wife for two years andalthough he was the one who hadsuggested the divorce, he was nowfeeling empty. He had lost hisappetite and was only eatingbecause he knew he needed to.The seafarer was due to be on boardfor another five months and he washiding how he felt from hiscrewmates. He said his parents wereboth dead and he was not close withhis siblings back home. His wifewould be keeping their apartment sohe was also worried that he wouldhave nowhere to go when hefinished his contract.Our SeafarerHelp team is trained inproviding emotional support. Theylistened to the seafarer’s problems

and helped him through a difficulttime by suggesting ways to copewith the situation and generallygiving a friendly non-judgementalear. They suggested that he couldtry sharing his feelings with acrewmate, and asked what activitieshe enjoyed that could help him feelbetter while he was still on board.The team also provided links toISWAN’s Good Mental HealthGuides for Seafarers and otherseafarers’ health resources availableon the SeafarerHelp website, whichcould help him manage his emotionsand take care of his mentalwellbeing.The seafarer contactedSeafarerHelp six times over thespace of two months. He latercontacted the team to thank them forthe time they had spent helping andsupporting him. He had started anew hobby, creative writing, and wasnow looking for a place to stay whenhe finished his contract.

Case study 1 – SeafarerHelp is here for thewellbeing of seafarers

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Seafarer nationalities In 2018/19 the team were contactedfrom 126 different countries around the world and dealt with seafarers of91 different nationalities compared to 86 in 2017/18.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Gender Of those who contactedSeafarerHelp, where gender wasrecorded, 6% were female and 94%were male. Female seafarers usuallyaccount for around 3% to 4% ofcases where gender is recorded.However, in 2018/19 this doubled to 6% from 3% in 2017/18.

This increase is largely due to theincreasing number of superyachtcrew who are contacting thehelpline. During the past year, due to the launch of the ISWAN report on the welfare needs of superyachtcrew, there is more awareness ofSeafarerHelp in this part of themaritime industry.

Filipino  – 26%

Russian – 4.6%

Withheld – 10.5%

Indian – 12.7%

Chinese – 2.2%

Ukrainian – 4.7%

British – 2.1%

“I want to express to you that I am more thangrateful, for the incredible work you do, you havedefinitely shown that you are an excellent teamof professionals, we are very conscious of all thework that you do and the investment of themany hours of your time to assist us.” – Seafarer

Other – 37.2%?

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SeafarerHelp was contacted by thesister of a Filipino seafarer who wasconcerned about her brother’swellbeing. The seafarer had beenmedically evacuated from his vesselafter fainting while on board. Theseafarer did not have his phone sohis sister, who lived in Singapore,had only found out about thesituation when a nurse at thehospital contacted her.The seafarer had been on a seven-month contract and this was his thirdtime working on a ship. He lovedworking at sea but he had told hissister that he was being bullied bythe other crew members. Hiscolleagues would verbally abuse himand on one occasion he wasthreatened to be killed if he madeany further mistakes. It was affectinghis sleep and the seafarer wasalready overworked, as the vessel nolonger had a catering boy who wouldusually help him with his duties.The fatigue and overwhelmingmental stress from the abuse andbullying resulted in the seafarersuffering from epistaxis (anosebleed) and fainting while onduty. He was medically evacuatedand taken by helicopter to a hospitalin the UK.The seafarer’s sister askedSeafarerHelp to find out moreinformation about her brother’scurrent situation, so theSeafarerHelp team contacted thehospital and liaised between thehospital staff and the seafarer’ssister to provide her with updates.The SeafarerHelp team eventuallymanaged to communicate with theseafarer directly via the helpline’s

Filipino speaker so the seafarercould communicate in his ownlanguage. The team providedemotional support and, with theseafarer’s consent, referred his caseto the International TransportWorkers’ Federation (ITF) SeafarerSupport Team in London who couldadvocate for the seafarer’s medicalrepatriation and payment of his owedwages. The SeafarerHelp team alsoarranged for a local Apostleship ofthe Sea chaplain to visit the seafarerin hospital for support.The seafarer was eventuallydischarged from hospital andrepatriated to the Philippines. Hisshipping company covered allmedical and travel expenses, alongwith his wages for the next twomonths. However, the seafarer had a long way to go until he was fullyrecovered – he was still suffering the effects of the trauma andemotional and mental abuse, andneeded further medical treatment.The SeafarerHelp team put him in touch with ISWAN’s RegionalRepresentative in the Philippines, Jun Pablo, and the local ITF inspectorfor support in his home country.SeafarerHelp continued to keep intouch with the seafarer as his healthimproved. When the seafarer waseventually certified fit for work, theSeafarerHelp team supported him inhis search for new employment. Hissister said: “[On] behalf of our familywe would like to thank you all foryour quick response and action...Your being friendly, good listenersand quick rescue gives us hope andconfident to continue to fight for therights of the victim seafarers.”

Case study 2 – SeafarerHelp supports seafarerafter medical evacuation from vessel

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of the Maritime Labour Convention,2006 and seafarers’ awareness ofit. More shipping companies nowappreciate that they need to meetthe required standards and crew arenow more aware of what theyshould expect and are increasinglylikely to raise concerns if thesestandards are not met.Other trends in issues raised are littlechanged from the previous year.Issues relating to financial and debtproblems have increased to 3.65%from 2.10% in the previous year.Another issue that has increased to11.51% from 8.50% is the amount ofinformation that the team gives outabout seafarer centres.

Seafarers concernsand issues SeafarerHelp receives calls fromseafarers about a wide range ofissues; from requests for informationabout the location of the nearestseafarer centre through to complexcases involving abandonment or atraumatic event. Issues raised aboutunpaid wages reduced to 9.07% ofcases from 12.40% of cases in theprevious year. Similarly issues aboutrepatriation problems reduced to4.49% of cases from 6.80% of casesin the previous year. One possiblefactor in the reduction in these casesis the impact of the implementation

Abuse, Bullying, Harassment, Discrimination 144 3.26%Cargo Handling Violation 10 0.23%Compensation (Personal Injury) 41 0.93%Contract (Abandonment) 94 2.13%Contract (Repatriation) 198 4.49%Contract (Ship conditions or living conditions) 77 1.75%Contract (Unfair dismissal) 119 2.70%Contract (Wages/Salary not paid) 400 9.07%Contract (Other not specified above) 99 2.24%Criminalisation 27 0.61%Death, Bereavement, Missing seafarers 59 1.34%Environmental Damage or issues 5 0.11%Family/Relationship problems 38 0.86%Fatigue (Tiredness, exhaustion, lack of rest, etc.) 60 1.36%Financial or Debt problems 161 3.65%Health/Medical (Physical) 230 5.21%Health (Psychological) including mental stress and depression 104 2.36%Information (about health provided) 565 12.81%Information (Education, Training, Qualifications) 111 2.52%Information (ITF Seafarer Support Team, Inspectors, Contacts, or Affiliated unions) 34 0.77%Information (Seafarer Centres, Port Welfare Facilities) 508 11.51%Information (Safety and safe practices on board) 52 1.18%Information (Other not specified above) 222 5.03%Piracy/War zone/Armed robbery 7 0.16%Seeking employment 495 11.22%Ship arrest or detention 15 0.34%Ship sunk or in danger of sinking/Shipwreck/Grounding 1 0.02%Welfare/Emergency provisions required 47 1.07%Other (Awaiting information) 54 1.22%Other (Communications failure, technical) 6 0.14%Other (Caller failed to respond/reply) 86 1.95%Other (Corruption or exploitation allegation) 20 0.45%Other problems (Not specified above) 323 7.35%

Problem type total %

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Method of contact Live Chat is now the most popularmethod of communication at 22.8%taking over from email which is nowat 20.8%. The methods ofcommunication using the internet arethe most popular because they arefree of charge and convenient. Intotal communication via the internetaccounts for over 60% of allcommunication. The phone now onlyaccounts for 11% of the calls toSeafarerHelp. WhatsApp is nowbecoming an increasing importantchannel of communication. Ouroffice in Manila deals with a numberof face-to-face interactions.A key aspect of our work in 2017was to improve the multi-channelaspects of the helpline and ensurethat we are available 24 hours per

day. Social media is a key pillar ofthis approach, and we were pleasedto see how these efforts havetranslated into positive engagement.Once again throughout 2018-19 we continued to make good use ofsocial media. By the end of the yearthere were 368,085 likes on theSeafarerHelp Facebook page and366,949 people following us. Wealso have a service for Russianspeakers on VK.com with 1,379friends and followers. We also continued to distribute ourSeafarerHelp posters and cardstogether with other ISWANpublications. As a result of theseongoing engagement efforts,seafarers continued to turn to us forassistance, guidance and support.

Livechat

Viber

Meet in Person

WhatsApp

VK.com

Telephone

Email

Facebook

SMS text

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Referrals to other organisations SeafarerHelp works with a range of organisations who we refer manycases to. The number of cases dealt with in-house has grown over thepast few years. Nearly 50% of the cases are now dealt with in-houseby the SeafarerHelp team. However, SeafarerHelp still relies on externalorganisations, particularly for labour-related issues. Nearly 13% of thecases are referred to the ITF or their affliated unions while over 15% of the cases are passed on to seafarer missions or centres.

Agencies/Organisations involved total %

“Thank you very much. I can’t explain mygratitude in words. You have been very verysupportive... You are amazing. Thank you.” – Cadet

Counselling (provided by external agency) 15 0.47Emotional support (provided in-house) 297 9.28Flag state of ship 7 0.22Government agency or Embassy 123 3.84Helpline Team (in-house) 1281 40.01ITF Coordinator/Inspector/Contact 127 3.97ITF Seafarer Support Team 235 7.34Job website (Crewtoo)/Government approved list of manning agencies 197 6.15MPHRP. Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme 3 0.09Port authority/Port state control 11 0.34Professional Yachting Association 1 0.03Seafarer Centre. AOS (Apostleship of the Sea) 105 3.28Seafarer Centre. MTS (Mission to Seafarers) 74 2.31Seafarer Centre. SS (Sailors Society) 20 0.62Seafarer Centre. Other missions/groups 293 9.15Seafarers’ Emergency Fund 25 0.78Unions 44 1.37Other 571 18.00SAIL 11 0.34CHIRP 12 0.37ICS 1 0.03P&I Club 1 0.03ILO 2 0.06Seafarers Rights International 3 0.09

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Ranks SeafarerHelp continues to offer

support for seafarers of all ranks.The 2018/19 data shows that thehelpline is used by an extremelywide spread of those at sea from

cadets to ship’s masters, deckofficers, galley and particularly

engine room crew, officers and crew

Able Bodied Seaman(AB)(GP1)

Engine room crew (e.g.Wiper, Oiler, Fitter, Pump man etc. but not Officers)

Electrician/Electro technical

Messman/Kitchen Assistant

Cook/Chef

Steward(ess) (Not Cruise ships)

Bosun

Cadets

Engineer (Second, Third, Fourth, Junior)

Restaurant/Hotel/Entertainment Staff (Cruiseships) & Passenger services

Deck Officers

Chief Engineer

Chief Officer/Chief Mate

Master/Captain

Marine Pilot

Other

“From far away I want to say thank you very much to SeafarerHelp for your support andworking 24 hours every day.” – Seafarer

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Bulk Carrier – 13%

Chemical tanker – 5%

Container Ship – 6%

Cruise Ship – 7%

Fishing Boat – 1%

Gas Tanker – 2%

General Cargo – 27%

Oil Tanker 14%

Ro-Ro Ferry – 2%

Supply Ship – 5%

Tug – 4%

Yacht – 6%

Other – 6%

Vessel typesSeafarers contacted us from a wide range of vessel types.General cargo vessels were the most common vessels onwhich the seafarer got in touch with us.

“Thanks a lot forbeing so prompt in replying to me.In times of trouble,a person listeningyour problems is a big relief.” –Seafarer

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Flag states Seafarers contacted while working on vessels from a wide range of flagstates. These are the flags which registered more than ten contacts.There were many more which saw low levels of contacts, in single figures.

10464

4848

31

25

2826

211614131211111010

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

Panama

Marshall Islands

Liberia

Malta

United Arab Emirates

Singapore

Hong Kong

Bahamas

Netherlands

Cyprus

Norway

India

Antigua and Barbuda

Iran

United Kingdom

Cayman Islands

Togo

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A significant amount of work wascompleted to ensure thatSeafarerHelp complied with theEuropean Union GDPR by thedeadline of May 2018.ISWAN has continued to invest in thetraining and professional developmentof the SeafarerHelp team. During2018/19 SeafarerHelp team membersattended a total of 77 trainingsessions. The team received trainingon safeguarding, counselling andlistening skills, supporting emotionalservice users, responding to suicidalcallers, and essential helpline skills. ISWAN also runs three other helplinesfor external organisations through ourtrading company SWAN Ltd.

“Thank you ISWAN for all your care and ssistancetowards my family! Here, on behalf of my family, I would like to express my appreciation andgratitude to your organisation!” – Seafarer

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Regional ProgrammeThe ISWAN Regional Programmedeveloped from the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian ResponseProgramme (MPHRP) and is nowfunded for three years by theTrafigura Foundation. Theprogramme continues to develop inIndia, the Philippines and Nigeria. In India the work is overseen by aProgramme Steering Group thatconsists of representatives from themaritime administration, shippingcompanies, crewing agencies,unions, professional associationsand welfare organisations. In thePhilippines, the programme hasestablished MoUs with governmentagencies and other organisations. In Nigeria, the programme worksclosely with the Nigerian SeafarersWelfare Board (NSWB) in providingsupport to the seafarers visitingvarious ports.

Over the past year the programmehas supported abandoned seafarersin the Gulf region including the UAEand Iran, responded to incidents ofpiracy in the Gulf of Guinea, assistedseafarers and their families affectedby traumatic events, andcampaigned against non-registeredcrewing agencies who exploit andoften abandon seafarers. In India the programme continued topromote the campaign against non-registered crewing agencies throughsocial media platforms and throughinteractions directly with seafarers atmaritime institutes. Posters andflyers were distributed to seafarersand a wide range of organisations. A survey was undertaken to assessthe impact of campaign onseafarers. Work was carried out withpartners in a number of cities to alertfamilies and young people to therisks of signing up with non-registered agencies.

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The regional staff, working closelywith the SeafarerHelp team, isproviding support to seafarers andtheir families affected by traumaticevents and crises. In the PhilippinesISWAN works with volunteerpsychologists who providepsychosocial support. The regionalteam in India and Philippines haveinteracted with local shippingcompanies and crewing agents andintroduced ISWAN’s mental healthself-help guides which are beingdistributed to seafarers. The teamwas also able to present on theissues concerning mental wellbeingof seafarers at various seminars andconferences in their regions. InNigeria the team member is aqualified social worker who hasprovided support to injured seafarersand also to crew who are being heldin prison. She regularly visits vesselsat various ports and providesemotional and counselling support to the seafarers. The team memberworks closely with port welfarecommittees (PWCs) and assistsseafarers who are affected byincidents of piracy and armedrobbery.

The programme also works closelywith Contact Group on Piracy off theCoast of Somalia (CGPCS) andadministers the Piracy SurvivorsFamily Fund (PSFF). The regionalteam in India and Philippines alsoprovide humanitarian support toseafarers and their families whenthey are affected by incidents ofmaritime piracy. The programme isalso working on providing assistanceto families of Iranian crew who arestill held by Somali pirates after morethan four years. The regional team is providingemotional support to seafarers andtheir families in dealing withtraumatic incidents and have beenable to assist them to cope withcrises.In India, the progamme has beenable to raise awareness onimportance of establishing PWCs in Indian ports with maritimestakeholders including theGovernment and is working closelywith them on the matter. In all three countries the team worksclosely with government agencies,ship owners, crewing agencies,maritime schools, unions andwelfare organisations.

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International PortWelfare Partnership(IPWP) ProgrammeThe ISWAN IPWP programme aimsto support the establishment ofwelfare boards which, according tothe Maritime Labour Convention2006, “shall regularly review welfarefacilities and services to ensure thatthey are appropriate in the light ofchanges in the needs of seafarersresulting from technical, operationaland other developments in theshipping industry”. The programmeis run on behalf of ISWAN by the UKMerchant Navy Welfare Board. Thisyear the team successfully helped toestablish committees in three majorNigerian ports: Apapa, Tin CanIsland and Port Onne as well as inDakar (Senegal), Novorossiysk(Russia), Mombasa (Kenya) and

Douala (Cameroon). A number ofAustralian ports formed their ownport welfare committees as did theFalkland Islands. The teamcontinues to provide support toseveral maritime sectorrepresentatives who are keen toestablish welfare boards in SouthAfrica, Mexico, Thailand, Gambia,Vietnam and Zanzibar. The IPWPwebsite, www.portwelfare.org,continues to receive an increasingnumber of ‘expressions of interest’ to actively participate in theprogramme. The programme ismatch-funded by the ITF Seafarers’Trust, TK Foundation, Seafarers’ UKand Merchant Navy Welfare Board(MNWB) with an ExecutiveCommittee made up of shipowners,unions, port authorities/owners,government, maritime funders andvoluntary organisationrepresentatives, all keen to promotebetter seafarers’ welfare in ports.

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Helsinki SeminarIn association with the FinnishSeamen’s Service, ISWANorganised a successful seminar inHelsinki in late November 2018alongside the AGM and members’meeting. The theme of the seminarwas ‘Working in partnership, seekingpractical solutions’ and it wasattended by nearly one hundredpeople from a range of organisationsboth from Finland and around theworld. Participants came fromgovernment, shipowners, unions,welfare organisations and maritimecompanies. The seminar looked atimplementation of the MaritimeLabour Convention, 2006, removingobstacles to seafarers’ welfare,health and wellbeing of seafarers,supporting women in the maritimeindustry, abandonment andincreasing the effectiveness of portwelfare.

2018 InternationalSeafarers’ WelfareAwardsThe International Seafarers’ WelfareAwards were held at the ILO inGeneva in April 2018. Attendeesincluded ISWAN-invited guests andMLC STC delegates representingshipowners, unions, governmentsand welfare organisations. Theceremony format followed previousyears’ ceremonies held at the ILOwhere award categories, shortlistsand winners were announced by theChair (ISWAN Trustee, Karin Orsel)and presented by the Guest ofHonour (Mr Greg Vines). As ILODirector-General Guy Ryder couldnot attend, a video message fromhim was recorded in advance andpresented to guests at the beginningof the ceremony. The winners were:Joseph Chacko and Leena Joseph

(Posthumous Award for OutstandingServices to Seafarers’ Welfare,collected by their daughter NehaJoseph); Wallem (ShippingCompany of the Year); Port ofRotterdam (Port of the Year);Mission to Seafarers Brisbane(Seafarer Centre of the Year);Nautilus Welfare Fund (The Dr DierkLindemann Welfare Personality ofthe Year (Organisation)); and JasperDel Rosario (The Dr DierkLindemann Welfare Personality of the Year (Individual)).

Superyacht crewWe partnered with MHG InsuranceBrokers to survey seafarers whowork on superyachts to investigatewelfare issues specific to the sector.The survey was designed to:• Highlight areas of welfare needs

among seafarers on superyachts• See what is working well under

current conditions to meet theirwelfare needs, and what needsimprovement

• Explore how existing seafarers’welfare structures may meet theseneeds and where there is scope fornew provision

The survey was anonymous andasked questions on food, cabins andcommunications, as well as thehealth and wellbeing of the men and women working on board.Responses were received from over400 seafarers. Inmarsat sponsoredthe launch of the report, which tookplace on Monday 3rd December2018 in London. The report gained a lot of interest and, as a result, agroup of industry partners includingunions, welfare organisations, andyacht management companies wasformed to see how therecommendations of the report could be implemented.

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Mental wellbeing In July 2018 the third guide in ourself-help guide series, ‘ManagingStress and Sleeping Well at Sea’,was launched. This guide includesan audio exercise (Relaxation atSea, currently available in Englishand Filipino) which was releasedseparately at the end of April. Theguides and infographics have beendownloaded thousands of times fromthe ISWAN and SeafarerHelpwebsites. A grant from Seafarers UKhas allowed us to print and distribute10,000 copies of Steps to PositiveMental Health and PsychologicalWellbeing at Sea in English and

Hindi around India through manningagents and/or maritime clinics,nautical colleges and seafarers’centres. Work was started ondeveloping a one-day mental healthawareness course for shippingcompanies that will be rolled out.Videotel produced a film based onISWAN’s Good Mental HealthGuides on seafarers’ mentalwellbeing which is free for allseafarers to access. The video hasnow won several awards. Videotelmade the ISWAN guides availablefor free on their ‘VOD Box’ which are present on approximately 10,000 ships.

Before his accident, Arjun* had beenworking as a seafarer for 18 years.He had graduated at the top of hisclass on a Merchant Navy course,and he worked on his first vessel for32 months back to back out of hislove for the job.When his accident occurred, Arjunwas working as an able seaman ona vessel sailing from Malaysia toNigeria. He was injured on boardwhen he and a colleague went to fixtwisted crane wires – a piece ofequipment pulled in Arjun’s hand,crushing his palm and fingers.Arjun was immediately evacuatedand taken to hospital where hereceived corrective surgery on hishand. However, the outlook for histwo middle fingers, which were themost damaged, was not good.ISWAN’s Regional Representative inNigeria, Afusat Eke, visited Arjun inhospital. He was traumatised by theaccident and glad to see Afusat – hehad been having nightmares since ithappened and feared losing hisfingers. He told Afusat that he wasworried about the impact his injurywould have on his ability to provide

for his family. His wife of seven yearsdid not work due to a medicalcondition so Arjun was the familybreadwinner.Afusat provided emotional support toArjun and reassured him that ISWANhad been in touch with the shippingcompany, which was doingeverything possible to support him.Afusat continued to support Arjununtil he flew home to India – shekept in contact with the company’srepresentative and ensured Arjunwas able to communicate with hisfamily while he was in hospital.Once Arjun had been repatriated,ISWAN’s Regional Director in SouthAsia, Chirag Bahri, contacted theseafarer’s shipping company for anupdate. The company confirmed thatArjun had been admitted to a goodhospital in Mumbai and wouldreceive the best care by an in-houseteam. The company would also lookafter Arjun’s future needs, providingcompensation and assistance withfuture employment when he hadrecovered. Chirag offered tocontinue ISWAN’s support by visitingArjun in hospital in Mumbai.

Case study 3 – ISWAN provides counselling forinjured seafarer in hospital

* This seafarer’s name has been changed to protect their privacy.

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Seafarers EmergencyFundISWAN administers the SeafarersEmergency Fund (SEF) that isfunded by The TK Foundation, ITFSeafarers’ Trust and Seafarers UK.The SEF is available to provideimmediate, essential aid to seafarersand families of seafarers, who aredirectly involved in sudden orunforeseen crises. The fund may beneeded to cover expenses such aspsychological counselling, medicalbills, repatriation and a number ofother unexpected costs. Over thepast year there were 30 applicationsto the fund and 21 were successful.The fund paid out a total ofUSD$76,603.

Photo competitionIn 2018, we joined forces with theInternational Maritime Organizationto run a photo competition incelebration of Day of the Seafarer.There were 1,800 entries to thephoto competition. Seafarers wereinvited to submit their bestphotographs showing a typical dayat sea, whether at work, rest or play.The theme of 2018’s Day of theSeafarer on 25 June was ‘Seafarers’Wellbeing’, so photos needed toreflect the theme hashtags#SupportSeafarersWellbeing and#GoodDayatSea.

Further activitiesDuring the year the ISWAN website,www.seafarerswelfare.org, wasrelaunched with a new design andcontent management system. Thismeant that that content could beaccessed more easily by users andthe website is easier to navigate.The website is designed for easyuse on both PCs and mobiledevices. Since the launch of the new design in November 2018 the number of monthly users has increased.

Two new guides were developedand launched. The ‘Good PracticeGuide for Shipping Companies &Manning Agents working withsituations involving missingseafarers’ was produced by ISWAN,the International Chamber ofShipping (ICS) and InterManager.The guidance covers managingrelationships onboard, actions thatshould be taken, and managingrelationships with the families ofseafarers who have gone missing. It includes details of recommendedprocedures to follow, templates andscripts for communicating withfamilies, and further resourcesincluding contact details for reportingincidents of missing seafarers.‘Arrested and Detained Vessels, andAbandoned Seafarers’ was producedby ISWAN in partnership withInterManager, ICS, ITF, and ICMA.The guide aims to assist port welfarecommittee members and welfareagencies in reviewing best practice inthese situations. The new guidanceoutlines the responsibilities of theauthorities and other organisationsthat might become involved whenproblems are identified aboard avessel whilst in port.The membership of ISWAN hasgrown over the past year with anumber of new shipping and shipmanagement companies becomingmembers. ISWAN is also workingmore closely with P&I Clubs anddeveloping our relationship withunions and other organisations.ISWAN was invited to present at a number of conferences during the year.

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Plans for futureperiodsThe ISWAN Board of Trustees isformulating a new strategy andbusiness plan for the next threeyears (2019 to 2022) that will focuson building funding and raising theprofile of ISWAN and our work. Anexternal evaluation of ISWAN will beundertaken over the coming yearand this may have an effect on thefuture direction of the projects andprogrammes.

Strategic objectivesThe main objectives will be to:1) Promote the provision of port

welfare facilities meetingseafarers’ identified needs;

2) Share and promote best practicein health and welfare;

3) Develop and promulgate adviceand information;

4) Run promotional campaigns tohighlight specific wellness andwelfare issues including the risksinvolved in using unregulatedand unscrupulous crewingagencies;

5) Provide short term emergencyfinancial relief for those in need;

6) Provide a 24/7 helpline for theworld’s seafarers;

7) Identify seafarer welfare andassistance needs throughfeedback from seafarers, theirrepresentatives and othersconcerned with seafarer healthand welfare, and analysis ofinformation available throughSeafarerHelp and other sources;

8) Undertake projects and researchaimed at identifying solutions tothe developing issues affectingseafarers and their families;

9) Seek to diversify and enhanceISWAN’s sources of financialsupport;

10)Raise global awareness ofISWAN’s activities, informationand advice and its internationalprofile.

SeafarerHelpThe following initiatives are plannedfor SeafarerHelp, the free andconfidential 24-hour helpline. Thereis going to be a feasibility study onproviding a health and lifestyleinformation service via SeafarerHelp.Research to gauge the demand forthe service would be carried out in-house. There will be more promotionof SeafarerHelp to seafarers andtheir families through an integratedmarketing campaign that will includeprint (posters), social media(Facebook/Instagram), andvideos/animation. Further training ofSeafarerHelp team on sexualharassment, welfare needs ofsuperyacht crew, counselling andmental health awareness skills(refresher) will be undertaken duringthe year. An external evaluation ofthe effectiveness and impact of theSeafarerHelp service is planned andthis will form a main part of the widerevaluation of ISWAN. Since the publication of the reportinto the welfare of superyacht crews,ISWAN has convened a smallindustry group that has designed aproject to provide information forthese crews. SeafarerHelp is a mainpart of the project and a new sectionof the website will be targeted atsuperyacht crews. ISWAN willpublish a quarterly report on datafrom calls to SeafarerHelp thatincludes the types of issues thatseafarers contact the helpline with,the main method of communication,the top nationalities, etc.

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The report will contain an analysis ofthe contacts and will identify trendsand highlight specific cases andconcerns. The report will be madeavailable on the website and will bepromoted to key partners in themaritime industry.

Seafarer wellbeingWorking with shipping and shipmanagement companies, ISWANwill deliver a guide to mentallyhealthy vessels that will includeguidance in implementing mentalhealth awareness policies. We willbe rolling out a programme of mentalhealth awareness training with theaim of changing attitudes to mentalhealth within the maritime industry.This will consist of ‘open courses’ inLondon and in-house trainingdelivered internationally bypsychologists or counsellors. Furtherdistribution of the printed self-helpmental wellbeing guides that providetools to seafarers is planned for thePhilippines. SeafarerHelp is a keypart of the mental health strategy,responding to concerns raised byseafarers and providing emotionalsupport. A new speak-up campaignis planned that will encourageseafarers to seek help if they arefeeling low. A key aim is to increaseawareness of SeafarerHelp andother resources for seafarers.ISWAN will further develop closerpartnerships with P&I Clubs andseek funding for specific health andwellbeing projects.

Regional ProgrammeOver the next year the RegionalProgramme has a number ofobjectives. The programme isplanning a range of activities toreduce the number of seafarerssigning up with non-governmentregistered crewing agencies. A campaign has already beenlaunched in India and has thebacking of government, unions,

shipowners, crewing agencies, and welfare agencies. The campaignis being intensified in 2019/20 withthe production of printed materialsand the organisation of workshops. The programme will increase theawareness of the effects of piracyamong seafarers and their familiesThe programme will also raiseawareness among seafarers andtheir families of support availableafter deaths at sea or other traumaticevents. The regions will activelypromote the support provided bySeafarerHelp and will work withother welfare providers.The programme will aim to provideseafarers with the best possiblesupport while awaiting trial or beingunjustly imprisoned in the countriescovered by the Regional Programme.Visits to seafarers held in prison inNigeria will be organised and aproject developed with otherpartners such as the ITF Seafarers’Trust and Mission to Seafarers toascertain the number of seafarers inprison and the support available tothem. The offices in India and thePhilippines will support families ofseafarers from these countriesunjustly detained and will work withgovernment departments,embassies, unions, shipowners, andothers to secure their release. Theregions will continue to disseminatethe self-help guides on mentalwellbeing. The regional offices willorganise mental health awarenessbriefings in maritime schools,crewing agencies, and shippingcompanies.ISWAN will work with WISTA andother organisations in the regions todevelop a programme to encouragemore women to go to sea. ISWANwill use the regional presence topromote the IPWP in each region.The regional staff will play an activepart in establishing port welfarecommittees in their regions.

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A female seafarer contactedSeafarerHelp in an extremelydistressed state. She was havingsuicidal thoughts brought on by atraumatic relationship breakdown.The SeafarerHelp officer who firstspoke to the seafarer realised thegravity of the situation. Whileproviding emotional support, theSeafarerHelp officer also gatheredas much information as possiblefrom the seafarer to undertake asuicide risk assessment and workout the best way to help her.The SeafarerHelp team assessed theseafarer as being a high suicide riskand they spent the next few dayshaving long telephone conversationswith her. The seafarer was veryemotional – she felt that her career in the maritime industry had come tonothing, that she had no value andthat there was no point in carryingon. She had no family or friends shecould turn to so she felt isolated andvulnerable. The SeafarerHelp teamreassured her and explained thatthey were there for her whenever she wanted to talk. They also rangher over the weekends to make sureshe was OK.In the meantime, the SeafarerHelpteam were exploring other ways inwhich they could assist the seafarer.They believed she would benefitfrom face-to-face counselling, sowith the seafarer’s consent they

contacted her trade union’s localoffice who agreed to fund somesupport. The seafarer was on leaveand living outside of her homecountry, so the trade union arrangedfor her to see a local counsellor whospoke her language.However, it became apparent thatthe counsellor’s command of theseafarer’s language was not goodenough to counsel her so theSeafarerHelp team needed to find areplacement.Despite contacting the seafarer’slocal embassy and anothergovernment’s local consulate, theSeafarerHelp team could not find asuitable counsellor where she wasliving so they asked the seafarer ifshe would be happy to becounselled over Skype instead.When the seafarer agreed, theyfound and put her in touch with a counsellor experienced in themaritime industry. Over the next fewweeks, the counsellor supported theseafarer through what was a verydifficult time.The seafarer now has a much betteroutlook and, at the time of writing, ispursuing a new job. She feels muchstronger and more able to cope withthe challenges she faces.SeafarerHelp has offered theseafarer further support includingcounselling if she needs it.

Case study 4 – Help for seafarers when theyneed it most

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International PortWelfare PartnershipProgramme (IPWP)The IPWP will continue to facilitatethe establishment of port welfarecommittees worldwide. However,with the programme due to end in2020 ISWAN will work with partnersto determine the future of support for existing and new port welfarecommittees, who will be encouragedto join ISWAN.

InternationalSeafarers’ WelfareAwards 2019The awards are going to be held atInmarsat in September duringLondon International Shipping Week.

Other activitiesISWAN will be holding a seminar on the mental wellbeing of seafarersalongside the AGM/members’meeting in Mumbai in November2019. There is also going to be aworkshop on establishing port welfarecommittees run by the IPWP.

A Filipino seafarer who had beenworking at sea for more than 10years was shocked when he wasdiagnosed with hepatitis C at his pre-employment medical examination(PEME). The diagnosis preventedhim from gaining medical clearanceto work at sea and meant that hemight never be able to work onboard again.The seafarer was worried that hewould no longer be able to supporthis family. The oldest two of his threechildren gave up their studies to helpprovide for the family. The seafarerhad also seen two specialists andwas told he required variouslaboratory tests to assess hiscondition but he was unable to affordthem. His manning agent wasuncooperative and advised him thathe was not covered by anyinsurance.Desperately needing help, theseafarer contacted SeafarerHelp.The SeafarerHelp team immediatelygot in touch with ISWAN’s RegionalRepresentative in the Philippines,Jun Pablo. Jun accompanied theseafarer to hospital for further testsand scheduled a meeting with the

seafarer and a Sailors’ Societychaplain to discuss the case.The seafarer was faced with costlymedical expenses – one laboratorytest alone cost $500 (USD) – so Junapplied to ISWAN’s SeafarersEmergency Fund (SEF) on theseafarer’s behalf. The applicationwas approved and the seafarer wasawarded a grant of $2,960 (USD) topay for his medical tests andtreatment.The seafarer later contactedSeafarerHelp to provide an updateon his recovery: “Me and my familyare very thankful to you[SeafarerHelp Team] because ofyour kind heart. I will be able tosupport my family again when I getwell and I believe that God madeISWAN the instrument for me tohave a second chance in my life...when I felt hopeless and weak, you lift me up and gave me hope. No words can express on how to saymy gratitude to ISWAN, and also toyour staff in ISWAN Philippines, theyreally take good care of me on theprocess of treatment. May Godalways bless all of you in ISWAN so you can continue to give hope to seafarers in need.”

Case study 5 – Seafarer with hepatitis C supportedby Seafarers Emergency Fund

Tel +44(0)208 253 0161 Email [email protected]

www.seafarerswelfare.orgwww.seafarerhelp.org

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