The IMarEST announces 1st Global Conference for Seafarer Mental Health and Wellbeing
The 1st Global Conference for Seafarer Mental Health and Wellbeing has been announced for 25 – 26 May 2021. The IMarEST event will bring together key stakeholders from across the maritime sector to discuss the critical issue and identify practical solutions to better support the needs of seafarers around the world.
The focus for the virtual conference, which will take place using the IMarEST’s online event platform, will be on intervention and defining industry best practice, as well as increasing monitoring and agreeing key areas of improvement.
In a 2020 industry-wide survey on seafarer wellbeing, conducted by Lloyd’s Register, 54%of seafarers felt they were not being actively helped to manage levels of stress and fatigue. The research also highlighted the significant crew-change crisis impacting both seafarers and their families during a tumultuous year for the maritime industry. However, seafarer mental health and wellbeing was already an area of concern before the pandemic, with issues such as isolation, fatigue and stress commonly reported.