Seafarers play a crucial role in global trade and commerce, ensuring the smooth transportation of goods across the world’s oceans. However, they face numerous challenges that impact both their professional and personal lives. Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts from governments, international organizations, shipping companies, and advocacy groups. The Seamen’s Church Institute’s (SCI) Center for Mariner Advocacy (CMA), plays a vital part in championing the rights and welfare of seafarers. 

Contact SCI’s Center for Mariner Advocacy: [email protected] · +1 504.934.4643

Mental Health and Well-being 

Seafarers often work in isolated environments, spending extended periods away from their families and loved ones. This prolonged isolation, coupled with a high-pressure work environment, can lead to mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Limited access to mental health resources exacerbates these challenges, making it difficult for seafarers to receive proper support. 

How CMA Helps: CMA advocates for improved mental health resources and policies that address the psychological well-being of seafarers. CMA has done this advocacy work domestically at National Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee meetings; internationally at International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings; and at various maritime industry events where CMA to educates individuals about this important topic.

Harsh Working Conditions 

Maritime work involves long hours, physically demanding tasks, and exposure to extreme weather conditions. Seafarers often face risks such as equipment malfunctions, hazardous cargo, and accidents at sea. Seafarers typically spend months at sea in these working conditions which over time can cause fatigue which contributes to safety concerns for the seafarers.  

How CMA Helps: CMA works to help ensure standards regarding work and rest periods, safe working environments, and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) meet the needs of today’s seafarers. Where they fall short, CMA works to improve them. As an example; CMA became aware that female mariners were facing challenges finding PPE that fit properly since PPE was designed with male seafarers in mind. CMA partnered with other interested parties to support a change to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006) that would rectify this deficiency. This change to MLC 2006 was adopted and came into force in December 2024. 

Piracy and Security Threats

Piracy remains a significant threat in certain regions, including the Gulf of Guinea, the Strait of Malacca, and parts of the Indian Ocean. Seafarers are at risk of hijackings, kidnappings, and armed attacks, creating psychological distress and endangering their lives. Seafarers also face threats of attack in conflict zones like the Black Sea and the Red Sea.   

How CMA Helps: Security agencies, maritime organizations, and governments generally focus on developing stronger anti-piracy measures and protective policies for the vessels and seafarers. CMA certainly supports these efforts; however, what CMA often highlights for policymakers is the need to take into account the mental health impacts these events have on seafarers and their families. CMA encourages them to create policies and procedures that help seafarers and their families deal with the mental health impacts of these traumatic events. 

Limited Connectivity and Communication

Despite advancements in technology, many seafarers still experience limited access to communication with their families due to high satellite internet costs and restrictions on personal use of communication devices. This isolation impacts morale and mental health. 

How CMA Helps: CMA advocates for improved connectivity at sea, championing policies that guarantee affordable and reliable communication for seafarers. Collaborating with shipping companies, CMA promotes the implementation of enhanced internet access and equitable usage policies. As part of these efforts, CMA joined forces with other seafarer welfare organizations to support an amendment to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 aimed at expanding internet access for seafarers, enabling improved connection with family and loved ones. This change to MLC, 2006 was adopted and came into force in December 2024.  

Criminalization of Seafarers

The criminalization of seafarers is a growing concern in the maritime industry, as crew members are increasingly being held legally responsible for incidents beyond their control, often facing harsh penalties, detainment, and even imprisonment. This trend has led to fears of unfair treatment, lack of due process, and the erosion of seafarers’ rights.     

How CMA Helps: CMA works to improve seafarers’ rights regarding the criminalization of seafarers by engaging with international maritime organizations, raising awareness of unjust criminalization, and pushing for fair legal protections. An example of this advocacy work includes CMA’s support of new guidelines for the Fair Treatment of Seafarers detained in connection with alleged crimes. In addition, CMA will attend future meetings hosted by various international organizations focused on this issue.  

Shore Leave Restrictions

Shore leave is essential for seafarers’ well-being, providing them with a break from the confined environment of a vessel. However, stringent port regulations, security concerns, facility access issues and bureaucratic hurdles often prevent seafarers from accessing shore leave.  

How CMA Helps: CMA actively campaigns for fair shore leave policies and works with port authorities to ensure seafarers have access to shore-based welfare facilities. When CMA becomes aware of seafarers unfairly being denied shore leave, CMA engages with the appropriate entities to attempt to gain relief for impacted seafarers. To address this issue in more holistic way, CMA worked with other members of the International Christian Maritime Association to raise the issue of shore leave challenges and helped to draft amendments to MLC, 2006.  As a result of these efforts, shore leave amendments have been adopted into the MLC, 2006 following an International Labor Organization meeting in April 2025.   

Seafarer Abandonment

Seafarer abandonment is a challenging issue, with ship owners sometimes leaving crews stranded without wages, provisions, or proper repatriation arrangements. The number of seafarer abandonment cases reported to the International Labour Organization and the International Maritime Organization continues to rise each year.     

How CMA Helps: CMA offers direct legal support to seafarers facing abandonment by collaborating with international organizations such as the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Through these partnerships, CMA works to help resolve seafarer abandonment cases, also seeking resolution on corresponding issues of unpaid wages and obstacles to timely repatriation.  

CMA continues to participate in meetings at the IMO and the ILO to assist in creating guidelines that aim to reduce the likelihood of abandonments, providing guidance on how to better respond to abandonment cases when they do occur. In addition, CMA has been a member of a task force whose focus is the improvement of policies applicable to a joint ILO/IMO database of abandonment cases. The collection of this critical data will allow a deeper understanding of the different causes for abandonment cases, which will aid in the identification of methods for reducing the number of cases.  

Repatriation Issues

Seafarer repatriation arrangements can be complicated even when seafarers have not been abandoned. These complications can be caused by countries having policies and procedures that ship owners do not plan for, reducing the possibility of repatriation. A ship owner may encounter delays in locating a replacement seafarer, so they opt to delay the seafarer’s repatriation until after their replacement arrives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, air travel for seafarers became very difficult, resulting in many seafarers unable to be repatriated and forced to remain on their vessels beyond the end of their contract.  Delays in repatriation, regardless of the cause, create uncertainty for seafarers who have fulfilled their contractual responsibilities and are ready to return home, and can cause mental health challenges for impacted seafarers.  

How CMA Helps: CMA offers direct legal assistance to seafarers experiencing delays in repatriation and works closely with the ITF to help ensure their prompt return home. CMA also advocates for stronger repatriation protections within international frameworks such as the MLC 2006 and has contributed to an amendment related to seafarer repatriation rights. 

In response to challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, CMA has also pushed for safeguards to prevent seafarers from being stranded aboard vessels in future global emergencies. CMA participated in an IMO meeting where these proposed protections received broad support. CMA remains committed to monitoring future developments and advocating at every opportunity to strengthen these vital protections for seafarers.