Seafarer welfare is improving at leading companies but not everywhere, finds new SSI report

Five years after the launch of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) Delivering on Seafarers’ Rights Code of Conduct, a growing number of shipping companies are demonstrating real change in seafarer welfare. However, across the industry as a whole, welfare improvements are not always reaching many seafarers.

These are the findings of a new progress report titled ‘Five Years into the Code of Conduct: What’s Changed for Seafarers?‘ (cover pictured, photo: Ian Supapo), published by the SSI, the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), the Mission to Seafarers, the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, RightShip and TURTLE.
 

The report says that data from RightShip’s Crew Welfare Self-Assessment (CWSA) - the tool through which ship operators self-assess against the Code of Conduct - reveals clear progress in many areas of crew welfare. More than 1,000 companies have now completed the CWSA, together accounting for over 13,000 vessels and around 300,000 seafarers, with participation increasingly reaching beyond the largest operators.

 Despite this progress, the results of two new studies among seafarers themselves - commissioned specifically for the report - paint a less rosy picture across the wider industry. Both of these studies revealed that, for many seafarers, core aspects of welfare still fall short.

For example, trust remains fragile across the industry as the seafarer study showed fewer than six in ten (59%) said they would feel safe raising a serious concern without fear of consequences, and the remainder either would not, or were unsure.

Also, crew wellbeing still requires the most universal attention across all data sets. Attainment in mental health training among CWSA participants, for example, sits at 76%, the lowest of the areas covering owners and operators, and progress within it is uneven, although there is clear movement in the right direction.

“The next five years must be about scaling good practice across more of the global fleet,” concludes SSI. “Charterers, insurers and financiers determine which operators thrive, and good welfare needs to be visible, measurable and valued in their decisions.”