A Picture of Health? Evidence of Mortality and Morbidity among Merchant Seafarers

Shipping accidents and fatalities to seafarers have declined over the past 20 years. However, the danger of working at sea remains potent. At the most basic level, published reports of lives lost at sea through accidental drowning, whether as the result of incidents involving single individuals or ships and whole crews, present a powerful picture of the hazards of the sea, and the notion of human frailty in the face of a hostile and unpredictable environment. At the same time they might also prompt some questions. Not just those concerned with the challenges of confronting the maritime environment, but also questions about the vulnerability of workers employed in ships that are unsafe workplaces and workers who, as a consequence of the commercial dictates of the industry, are made even more vulnerable by routinely performing unsafe acts during their work at sea. In addition they may stimulate speculation about whether these workers might experience exposure, not only to obvious physical dangers but also to less visible, but equally serious risks to their health present in ships’ cargoes or in the work involved in loading, unloading and transporting them at sea. Thinking about these matters leads to further consideration about the impact on seafarers’ health, safety and well-being of the changes that have occurred in recent decades in the organisation and operation of the business and regulation of maritime transport, which have helped place it in the vanguard of the world’s globalised industries.