INTRODUCTION

Seafaring is a particular profession in which workers are usually exposed to several

stressors that are related to the different duties on board ships. Stress is the response to an event
or situation. It is part of the normal process of adaptation to environment and consists of adaptive
behavioral responses. Exposure of subjects to a stressor of physical, psychological, social, and
environmental nature for a long time may make difficult to cope with it. When a stressor
becomes dysfunctional a condition named distress is generated. Work-related stress is a topic
receiving increasing attention by research and political institutions.

Recently an Italian Regulations on safety in the workplace prescribed to measure, besides

physical fitting of workers, psychological stress in different working contexts. Work-related
stress affecting seafarers has particular characteristics often different from stress that can be
appreciated in other working activities. These include many possible dangers in the form of
accidents, injuries, and diseases.

Seafaring risks depend on the type of activity or work on board. This activity must be
regarded as strenuous due to the multitude of factors within and without the ship that come to
bear on it. Work of seafaring is characterized by subjective and objective stress factors.
Subjective factors rely on the self-assessment of the person’s own condition and on the degree of
personal satisfaction that work produces.

Subjective factors playing a role in the cause of accidents on board are very difficult to
assess. They are probably the cause of more than 50% of accident and the most frequent reasons
for absence from work at sea. Objective factors rely on the conditions in which the work is done
(noise, vibration, temperature changes) leading to physical, chemical, mechanical, and structural
risks. Other objective factors are represented by social and organizational aspects such as
excessive responsibility, monotony, lack of career prospects, sleep difficulties, and long
separations from families and home. These elements may have a negative influence on the
physical and psychological efficiency of the crew.

Working under stress worsens the quality of life of the employees, their wellbeing, and
can also negatively affect their health. More specific factors can be related to different activities
in which seafarers are involved (pilots, masters/mates, engineers, and deck crew).

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to find out how the seafarers overcome their sufferings while on board ships.

Specifically, it seeks to determine the following:

1. What are the marine’s lifestyle?

2. What are the psychological effects on seafarers while away from their loved ones?

3. What do the marines do to overcome or manage their stress at work?

4. How the marine management does concern their employees?

5. Is there a significant difference in their psychological effect between working on board

ships and working abroad on land?

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The study of “Psychological effects and management of stress on seafarers” had a scope

of proving on how to overcome the psychological and management stress that the seafarers face

while they are far away from their families or love ones. This study is given a half of semester to

comply and accommodate all certain documents, evidences, and files to prove that all data given

and used are facts from reality.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

 Anxiety - a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event

or something with an uncertain outcome.

 Burn out - ruin one's health or become completely exhausted through overwork.

 Cardiovascular Diseases - conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels

that can lead to a heart attack, chest pain (angina) or stroke.

 Chaplains - a member of the clergy attached to a private chapel, institution, ship, branch

of the armed forces, etc.

 Deck Crew - Working in an executive department responsible for the navigation,

maneuvering and safe handling of the ship, communications between ship and shore, the

handling and delivery of cargo, and the operation of all lifesaving devices.
 Depression - is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you

feel, the way you think and how you act.

 Fatigue - extreme tiredness, typically resulting from mental or physical exertion or

illness.

 Material Witnesses - a witness whose evidence is likely to be sufficiently important to

influence the outcome of a trial.

 Merchant - a person or company involved in wholesale trade, especially one dealing

with foreign countries or supplying merchandise to a particular trade.

 Monotony - lack of variety and interest; tedious repetition and routine.

 Pilots - is a sailor who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as

harbors or river mouths.

 Rat Race Mentality - rat race is a fierce, competitive way of life that involves pursuing

goals in a repetitive, endless manner.

 Seafaring - the practice of traveling by sea, especially regularly.

 Stress - a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very

demanding circumstances.

 Stressor - a chemical or biological agent, environmental condition, external stimulus or

an event that causes stress to an organism.

 Substandard - below the usual or required standard.

 RELATED REVIEW LITERATURE

FOREIGN

Kasapis Manos (2017) concludes depression is prevalent among seafarers. He

said that seafarers usually work in long hours with only a small amount of time for

sleeping and because of this, they experience burnout and fatigue. According to him,

seafaring is an occupation with risks. Risks such as cardiovascular diseases and

cancers due to work related conditions. One of their coping mechanisms for their

tiredness are drinking alcohols and smoking cigarettes which is clearly a high risk for

their health. Another factor that contributes to them having depression is the distance

they have with their families, being away from them for days to even years can be

emotionally taxing and very lonely.

According to the IMEQ Center HR department (2018), stress and anxiety are both

an aspect of very day life. Sadly, seafarers are exposed to multiple work-related

stressors like long working hours, job monotony, noise, vibration, temperature

changes, a multinational environment, limited reaction activity, isolation and a lot

more. Carotenuto (2012) said that these factors produce an imbalance between work

demands and personal resources which lead to a decline in the physical and

psychological health of a seafarer and increases the risks for accidents and injuries

among them.
 According to Maris (2011), “…recent cases have shown a marked tendency for

seafarers to be criminally prosecuted for maritime accidents beyond their control;

criminally prosecuted for maritime accidents where there has been some negligence,

regardless of the fact that such negligence is not considered criminal in the maritime

industry; detained indefinitely within the country bringing charges against them; held as

‘security’ or ‘material witnesses’ till the ship owner or P&I club pays up; held in custody

without any access to legal assistance or without being formally convicted of a criminal

office; and denied shore leave for arbitrary reasons”.

Couper et al. described a type of abuse that merits its own category. They say, “This

is about seafarers employed within the sector of merchant shipping which is regarded as

substandard. By substandard we include ships defective in structure and equipment, and

those with low wages and poor working conditions. Very often they are the same vessels.

In this substandard sector of ship owning, seafarers are exploited and abused, and

respectable shipping companies are exposed to unfair competition.”

Von Dreele (2006) also says, “Chaplains and ship visitors often confront the clash of

cultures and nationalities aboard ship. Certain nationalities should never be put together

on the same ship. Racism and abuse are prevalent on many open registry ships today. To

compound all of this, the seafarer has to deal with the immense isolation aboard ship. He

is gone for up to nine months and rarely has an opportunity to contact his family”.

However, in fairness to ship owners, crew members are now often allowed access to
email facilities aboard many ships. This is particularly true of large oil tankers and of

ships managed by reputable shipping lines.

Allen et al. (2008) say, “Fatigue has been noticeably under-researched compared to

other transport sectors. While diversity in the seafaring population has the potential to

make global fatigue estimates meaningless, evidence of mis-recorded working hours

shows how cultural and commercial pressures are universally shared.”

Smith et al. (2006) say that “Fatigue is strongly linked to mental health problems

which are clearly risk factors for more chronic disease and early death (e.g. suicide). A

classic accident resulting from fatigue due to lack of sleep by a ship’s officer occurred in

Australian waters on April 3, 2010.

According to Marine Safety (2017), there are ten (10) mandatory rules for seafarers

under the Code of Conduct for Merchant Navy. It includes punctuality, drinking, drugs,

weapons, carrying out of duties, smoking, behavior towards colleagues onboard, bringing

unauthorized person on board, treatment of ship’s property and accommodation area, and

lastly, unlawful activities.

According to Bikram Singh (2017), there are five (5) behavioral techniques for

seafarers to reduce stress at sea. It includes eliminating the rat race mentality,

implementing effective listening, stopping procrastinating, not letting negativity of other

colleagues affect you, and avoiding letting your ego come in your way.
 According to Michael Gray (2017), the social isolation of the seafarer needs to be

addressed by better connectivity, with affordable communication technology enabling

people at sea to more easily communicate with their loved ones and live a more “normal”

life. But other, perhaps more realistic folk, have pointed out that the ability to

communicate easily may bring with it its own problems, such as bringing the crises at

home onto the plate of the person at sea, who might be unable to do anything practical to

help and will feel ever more helpless and stressed, as a result. The lack of communication

between people on board ships, with insufficient people aboard to provide even a small

cohesive society has been identified by people who have gone to sea primarily to observe

what happens afloat. Two authors – Rose George and Horatio Clare, who wrote separate

books about their voyages aboard Maersk containerships, commented on this self-

contained, self-imposed isolation of the off-watch seafarers; spending their time behind

the closed doors of their cabins, locked into their “devices”. Mealtimes, they noted, were

spent mostly in silence, the shortest possible time being occupied in eating. Those who

experienced sea time in more generously manned days, when there was a working

shipboard society and friendships established, look on modern seafaring as a

demonstrable deterioration of working life. Loneliness is clearly a major factor in the

deterioration of mental health, but what can be done to prevent it, rather than to try and

pick up the pieces after a breakdown is an important question. You can scarcely force

people to socialize, especially when the working language of the ship is not their own. It

could be argued that the manning is so lean and everyone so busy that there is no room,

or space, for a more pleasant life.

 According to Iversen RT. Int Marit Health (2012), in describing seafarers' mental

health the use of rates to cite trends in suicides by seafarers was not employed. Statistics

on seafarer deaths are given by two methods as percentages of deaths by suicide by

seafarers. One compares deaths by suicide to total deaths and the second compares deaths

by suicide to deaths due to illness. It is felt these methods are more readily understood by

non-scientists who may be in policy-making roles in business or government. A detailed

description covers two current projects to improve the mental health of seafarers. The

causes of depression by seafarers are described. Statistics from 1960-2009 on the deaths

by seafarers compared to total deaths of 17,026 show 1,011 seafarers died as a result of

suicide (5.9%). Compared to deaths of 4,487 seafarers due to illness, 590 seafarers died

as a result of suicide (13.1%). These percentages would be higher if 50% of deaths due to

seafarers disappearing at sea were included.

According to Donny O’ Malley (2015), “What many officers think, but don't say

(out loud). His deviant behavior and lack of decency gave me some of the most side-

splitting fits of laughter in my life. And as someone who has served (and continues to

serve) through four combat deployments, I understand the importance of laughter during

shared misery. His words will make you recoil in disgust, laugh your ass off, and give

you a newfound respect for the men and women who put life and limb on the line.

Contrary to what some will say, this book is life line to all service members everywhere

suffering through wounds seen and unseen... As well as closeted, degenerate officers.”
LOCAL

According to Almirante (2015), a spouse of a deceased seaman who committed

suicide aboard the ship, the reason for the death of his husband was emotional strain

the cause of which is the agencies’ refusal for the seaman’s coming home to his

family. His loneliness at sea escalated when December came, and he still was not

allowed to come home. Emotional trauma was another cause, reason being the

captains’ actions towards him aggravated him and the conditions of his job were

stressful enough.

An article written by Denis (2015) concludes that seafaring is the second most

high-risk occupation in terms of suicides. He read from the World Health

Organization (WHO) that the report on suicide is about 800,000 deaths per year, and

according to academic studies, seafarers make up a significant portion of those

deaths.

According to Tomas Andres (2016), to further understand Filipino seafarers, we

have to consider his values, attitudes, and behavior. He says, “Filipino seamen are a

happy blend of several races, basically Malay with Chinese, Spanish, Indian and

American admixtures. Their values and ways of life were shaped by several,

sometimes conflicting cultures, and the resulting blend is what makes their own
uniquely Filipino. In their veins run the rich Christian values of Europe, the pragmatic

and democratic values of America, and the spiritual values of Asia.”

According to Bob Jaques (2018), more than a quarter of seafarers showed signs of

depression – and many won’t ask for help. The study of more than 1,000 seafarers

found that some 26% said they had felt “down, depressed or hopeless” on several

days over the previous two weeks, revealed a public presentation of the report’s

findings at the Sailors’ Society’s Wellness at Sea conference held in London last

week. Isolation from families, length of contract and the quality and amount of food

served on board were all found to be contributory factors to seafarers’ mental health.

Nearly half (45%) of seafarers who reported symptoms of depression said they had

not asked anybody for help, while around one-third said they had turned to family

and/or friends; only 21% said they had spoken to a colleague aboard ship. Seafarers

spend months on end at sea, facing some of the toughest conditions of any

workforce,” said Sandra Welch, deputy ceo of Sailors’ Society – which celebrated its

200th anniversary this month. “This report is a wake-up call to the industry about the

huge impact this is having on seafarers’ mental health.”

According to Ryan Jacobs (2013), the pressures of the shipping industry have

shaped everything about this maritime culture. Right down to their penile implants.

When Norwegian anthropologist Gunnar Lamvik first began living in Iloilo city, a

seafaring haven in the southern Philippines, he sensed he wasn't getting the richest

and most detailed information about the shipping experience from interviews with his
neighbors, who were home on two-month vacations from 10 months at sea. To crack

the cultural mystery of any total institution, you have to go inside, he reasoned. "If

you [want] a feeling of a seafarer's life, you have to be at sea with them when they are

open," said Lamvik, who now studies how cultural differences affect occupational

safety at a Norway-based think-tank called SINTEF. "It's important to be on board for

some time, and build trust. That's the crucial thing to do." This 'secret weapon of the

Filipinos,' as a second mate phrased it, has therefore obviously something to do, with

the fact that 'the Filipinos are so small, and the Brazilian women are so big' as another

second mate put it. For the next three years, he was on and off ships, floating with his

subjects from port to port and trying to make that connection. At a raucous karaoke

crew member party somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean, it began to happen.

He belted out the lyrics to "House of the Rising Sun." Then, he insisted on singing it

again. "That was a real ice breaker," he said. It was in this type of loose, booze-

flowing setting that he learned the most about the lives of his shipmates. And soon,

conversations turned to perhaps the most fascinating part of the Filipino seafaring

identity, the little-known and barely studied sexual practice of "bolitas," or little balls.

Many Filipino sailors make small incisions in their penises and slide tiny plastic or

stone balls -- the size of M&M's -- underneath the skin in order to enhance sexual

pleasure for prostitutes and other women they encounter in port cities, especially in

Rio de Janeiro. "This 'secret weapon of the Filipinos,' as a second mate phrased it, has

therefore obviously something to do," Lamvik wrote in his thesis, "'with the fact that

'the Filipinos are so small, and the Brazilian women are so big' as another second

mate put it."

 As for Dominador Almirante (2015), the surviving spouse of the deceased seaman

Glicerio Malipot, with whom the latter has two minor children. In July 16, 2008,

Glicerio was hired by petitioner Unicol Management Services, acting for and in

behalf of its principal, petitioner Link Marine Pte., Ltd. for the vessel Heredia Sea as

chief engineer. In her complaint for death compensation, respondent alleged that

Glicerio suffered emotional strain when petitioners refused to allow him to go home

and to be with his family as early as Nov. 16, 2008. She further contended that

Glicerio became depressed, especially when December came and he was still not

allowed to go home by the port captain. She stressed that her husband’s death was

compensable because his emotional trauma was caused by the conditions of his job

and aggravated by the acts of the port captain. Upon the other hand, petitioners

contended that before the end of Glicerio’s employment contract in Jan. 13, 2009,

they received information that he committed suicide by hanging in the store room of

the Heredia Sea. This report was confirmed by the certification of the Philippine

Consulate General in Dubai and the accompanying documents, namely, medico legal

report issued by the Ministry of Justice of the United Arab Emirates and the death

certificate issued by the Ministry of Health of the United Arab Emirates.

According to Steve McKay (2005), raw materials for the bolitas can range from

tiles to plastic chopsticks or toothbrushes. A designated crew member boils them in

hot water to sterilize them, and then performs the procedure. There are also different

preferred locations for insertion. Some have one on top or bottom, and others have

both. One shipmate told McKay that others have four, one on top and bottom and on
both sides, "like the sign of the cross." Another said: "I have a friend at home, you

know what his nickname is?" McKay recalled. "Seven." The practice is unique to

Southeast Asia and dates back to at least the 16th century, though no one is sure if it

has been continuous. Italian scholar Antonio Pigafetta accompanied Ferdinand

Magellan and his crew on their explorations and journaled about a similar behavior in

what is currently southern Philippines and Borneo. Apparently, it was also practiced

in Thailand and Indonesia, but vanished from the historical record in the mid-17th

century, when men bowed to the pressures of Islam and Christianity. Mckay was

shocked to learn that it still existed in what, based on his extensive conversations with

Filipino seafarers, seemed like great numbers. In the extremely limited body of

academic literature on this topic, there aren't many numbers. One 1999 study found

that out of 314 randomly selected Filipino seamen in the port of Manila, 180, or 57

percent, said they had them.

 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

Name: ______________________________________________ Age: __________

Civil Status:_______________________ Date: __________

Good day! The researchers are from University of the East – Manila taking up BS Accounting

Technology in Fourth Year, who are currently conducting a research study about the

“Psychological Effect and Management of Stress on Seafarers”. The researchers would like to

take a few minutes of your time to answer this survey and any information gathered will be

confidential and will be strictly for academic purposes only.

1.) How many years are you involved in maritime voyages?

o 1 – 5 years

o 6 – 10 years

o 10 – 15 years

o 16 – 20 years

o 20 years and above

2.) Did you attend any kind of maritime seminars prior to your voyage?

o Yes
 o No

If yes, state the seminar: _______________________________

3.) Check the negative effects you experienced while being on board for a long period of

time. (Check as many as possible)

o Loneliness

o Depression

o Sadness

o Anxiety

o Solitude

o Stress

o Overwork

o Suicidal thoughts

o Others (specify): __________________________

_________________________

4.) How many hours of work do you do per day?

o Less than 12 hours

o 12 hours

o More than 12 hours

5.) Are you restrained from contacting your family members while on board?

o Yes
 o No

If yes, state the reason why: ____________________________________

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Issues

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