A new survey reveals that over 40% of seafarers either feel unsafe raising serious safety issues at sea or are concerned about the consequences. These results are published in a report titled "Five Years After the Code of Conduct: What Changes Have Occurred for Seafarers?"
Serious concerns about seafarer safety
According to this report, only 59% of surveyed seafarers feel safe reporting serious issues without fear of repercussions. This indicates a significant gap in seafarers' confidence at a time when safety in the shipping industry is heavily debated.
Improvement in crew welfare standards
This report also compares seafarers' experiences with data obtained from the self-sufficiency assessment of crew welfare from RightShip. This assessment was conducted by over 1,000 companies and includes more than 13,000 ships and about 300,000 seafarers. Among participating companies, welfare standards are improving. For example, the score for fair employment conditions was 90% and the employment score was 88%.
Additionally, internet costs have decreased; the proportion of companies charging seafarers for internet access has dropped from 18.4% in 2024 to 8.5% this year.
Challenges in seafarer welfare
However, surveys from seafarers present a less comfortable picture across the broader fleet. Only 49% say that in their last contract, there were enough crew members for safe work without excessive fatigue or violation of agreed rest hours.
Support for mental health is also insufficient. 56% of seafarers say that confidential support is available and feel safe using it, while 17% have access to such support but do not feel comfortable, and 27% report having no access to it.
Crew welfare remains the weakest area among companies utilizing the RightShip assessment, with a score of 76%. However, mental health training has increased from 64% to 76% since 2024.
