Steamship Mutual to sponsor ISWAN’s mental health resources for seafarers

The International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) has announced superyacht insurance expert Steamship Mutual as the new sponsor of its mental health resources for seafarers.

ISWAN’s 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 ISWAN to print and distribute the resources in the Philippines, where ISWAN’s regional programme provides humanitarian support to seafarers. Two of the guides, Steps to Positive Mental Health and Psychological Wellbeing at Sea, and the new audio relaxation exercise are available in Filipino as well as English.

The new partnership with Steamship Mutual will also make it possible for ISWAN 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, added, “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 mental health resources are free to download from the ISWAN website.

For more information, visit ISWAN or Steamship Mutual. Sign up to our newsletter to get the best of Yachting Pages delivered direct to your inbox every month.