Seafaring in the eyes of an outsider
SOMETIMES, the best ideas, solutions and innovations come from outside of an industry. It stems from the fresh perspective of an outsider who views things through the lens of an analogous field and is not mentally constrained by the existing solutions to the problem.
In some cases, solutions and radical innovations draw from the greater distance between the industry and the analogous field. Case in point is Dr. Nelson Turgo, research associate at UK-based Cardiff University, who determined, on a deeper level, the most common source of depression among the world’s seafarers.
After completing a degree in Literature in UP Diliman Turgo made extensive studies on marine social sciences — a task he performed strongly and personally, since he grew up in a fishing community in Quezon province and was raised by a fisherman-father.
Immediately after graduation, Turgo earned a fellowship at Cardiff University and wrote a dissertation on the globalization of fishing communities in Quezon. His involvement with the human element of the fishing sector led to the bigger and more complex manpower sector of the global merchant marine industry — a subject he burrowed deeply by practically living the life of a seafarer.
Living the life of a seafarer
“I’ve been to four ships: the first one was seven weeks onboard a reefer container transporting bananas from America to Europe; the second was a month- long voyage with an oil tanker; the third was a bulk carrier from China to New Zealand; and the last one was an LNG tanker transporting natural gas from Trinidad and Tobago to Boston.
“The first and second weeks were quite exciting and unnerving because it was something new. The first ship was something really special because it was almost a full crew and only the captain was British. Everyone helped me navigate the unpredictable life onboard and we would have barbecue parties during navigation.
“What struck me the most was the routinary aspect of their life onboard and because I am not
a seafarer, it became difficult. They would have breakfast at seven, go to work at eight, and everything is precise and on the dot. It was so predictable that you could go to a certain place on the ship and expect someone to be there. After two weeks of doing my interviews and exhausting all topics with the seafarers, boredom finally set in. It was a struggle because I felt that it is no longer my place. The excitement of being at sea had dissipated.
“There was nothing to do. There was no internet. There were time that they were only given around 500 MB of data allocation and at times, 1 GB. It was not enough,” Turgo recalled.
The mental struggle was so great for Turgo that he began to understand the seafarers’ struggle on a much deeper level. He spent months with occasionally happy people who are usually exhausted from work and straining to combat stress, boredom and depression.
“Coping depends on the ship and the frequency of port calls. There are times when they only have a couple of hours to go ashore. Other times, they just have to stay on ship and kill time — watch movies, go to the gym, sing together. They have to find ways to socialize with the other crew because they are already isolated from the rest of the world,” he said.
Turgo further observed how some companies do not provide adequate attention to the mental health of the seafarers due to the insufficient equipment and facilities onboard like Internet connection, gym equipment, a small collection of books or an archive of movies.
“What made this study different from others was the focus on the social aspect, the interaction of man within society. I was able to utilize my background in cultural studies and sociology to better understand the human element in the maritime industry. This goes beyond the typical psychological and logistical researches on maritime because we also focused on their isolation issues, power dynamics, and interface between seafarers and machines.”
Study results
The study, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, concluded that exhaustion from too much work was the underlying cause of shipboard depression, as was familyrelated problems and boredom.
With over 1,500 seafarers completing survey questions based on their experiences, it was found that other ship- specific factors caused seafarers to feel down, such as heavy workloads, being unable to take shore leave, poor food, having a ‘ bossy captain,” discrimination, being blamed for things and falling out with superiors and other colleagues.
To combat depression, seafarers reported a range of shipboard strategies, including recreational activities. They have identified the provision of free internet access as the most significant contribution that could be made by employers to the improvement of mental health and well- being on board.
They also suggested improved terms and conditions of work, relationships on board, physical health, accommodation and recreation.