OneCare Group emphasized the importance of aligning seafarers' welfare policies with the realities of their daily lives during a webinar held on the occasion of World Maritime Day. This webinar, titled "From Policy to Action – Empowering Maritime Excellence," featured experts from the fields of maritime welfare, mental health, brokerage, and ship safety and operations discussing the challenges and barriers present.
Challenges Between Written Policies and Realities
The CEO of WellAtSea, Gisa Pardes, stated during the webinar that a recurring theme is the mismatch between corporate goals and the experiences of seafarers in their daily lives. She said, "Putting people at the center of maritime excellence truly requires confronting operational realities. We need to move from recording paper rest hours to actual biological rest and advance from emergency support lines to ongoing psychological care. To do this, we must break the stigma and strengthen leadership so that seafarers truly feel safe to speak up."
Fatigue and the Need for Change
Fatigue was introduced as one of the most apparent challenges of policy to action. While international requirements regulate working and rest hours, speakers pointed out whether compliance truly means that seafarers are getting enough restorative sleep.
Captain Siva Shanmugam, Chief of Operations Inspections for Asia at RightShip, remarked, "The issue is not always about compliance, but whether it has been recorded correctly?" He also referred to the pressures created during port stops, where crew changes, supply provisions, and other activities are carried out within a limited timeframe.
The Director of Clinical and Special Programs at OneCare Group, Gowan Kale, warned that merely recording rest hours cannot provide a complete picture. He added, "The rest opportunities given to seafarers are not the same as restorative sleep."
Olga Pavlova, Director of Global Brokerage Operations at NSB GROUP, also emphasized that the fundamental problem is often not the lack of policies, but what happens between the written requirements and daily life on board.
In conclusion, the panel stressed the need to support mental health beyond crisis intervention. Gowan Kale stated that issues often arise from inadequate sleep, onboard stress, family problems, and feelings of loneliness. The goal is to facilitate access to professional help before a crisis occurs.
Throughout the webinar, all speakers agreed that significant progress has been made in the area of seafarers' welfare, but there is still much work to be done, and greater awareness of the challenges faced by seafarers and practical measures to ensure necessary support must be created.
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