We are delighted to welcome Steamship Mutual as the new sponsor of ISWAN's mental health resources for seafarers.
Our resources include a series of three self-help guides available in a number of different languages, a range of mental health and wellbeing infographics, and an audio relaxation exercise. These were developed to help seafarers manage and cope with low mood, stress and fatigue, and maximise their overall psychological wellbeing while working at sea.
Steamship Mutual’s support will enable us to print and distribute the resources in the Philippines, where our Regional Programme provides humanitarian support to seafarers. Two of the guides, Steps to Positive Mental Health and Psychological Wellbeing at Sea, and the audio relaxation exercise are available in Filipino as well as English. The new partnership with Steamship Mutual will also make it possible for us to develop new resources for seafarers’ mental health.
Chris Adams, Head of Loss Prevention at Steamship Mutual, said: ‘The safe and effective operation of our Members’ vessels relies very heavily upon their seafarers being fit, physically and mentally, for the pressures of a seagoing career. The Club has long recognised the importance of crew wellbeing upon safety, and to augment earlier loss prevention initiatives in this area, the Managers are very pleased to support ISWAN’s Good Mental Health Guides for seafarers. This work is strongly commended, and we hope that individual seafarers will find these guides helpful in developing mental resilience to the increasing challenges presented by life at sea.’
Roger Harris, ISWAN’s Executive Director, said: ‘We’re delighted that Steamship Mutual are sponsoring these important resources. The mental wellbeing of seafarers is a key issue for the industry and we are pleased to be working with Steamship Mutual.’
All of the good mental health resources are free to download here. Print copies of the guides are available on request – please e-mail iswan@iswan.org.uk.