The 2026 SEAFiT Crew Survey, covering 23,138 seafarers across 1,961 vessels worldwide and sponsored by NorthStandard, points to gradual improvement in crew welfare, with the SEAFiT Index rising from 70.1% in 2025 to 73.5% in 2026. Yet the findings also reveal a familiar picture: many of the fundamental concerns affecting everyday life at sea continue to surface year after year.
The year 2026 has brought significant challenges for shipping, with geopolitical instability, security threats and rapidly changing operational conditions placing renewed emphasis on the people working at sea and the support available to them.
Now in its sixth edition, the SEAFiT Crew Survey examines living and working conditions onboard and seeks to provide a data-driven picture of crew welfare. This year’s survey shifts the discussion from resilience to care, asking whether seafarers feel respected, valued and adequately supported in their work and life at sea. The 2026 survey was conducted during Q1–Q3 2026, gathering feedback from seafarers serving onboard as well as seafarers currently ashore.
The SEAFiT Index increased to 73.5%, from 70.1% in 2025, reflecting improvement across several measured welfare indicators. The four main dimensions also recorded higher scores: Wellness reached 84.2%, Communication 82.7%, Happiness 75.2% and Wellbeing 65.2%. Wellbeing remained the lowest-scoring dimension, while the Physical Wellbeing Index rose to 74.1%, from 71.8% in both 2024 and 2025. A total of 23,138 seafarers participated in the survey, including 22,427 serving onboard and 711 currently ashore, representing 1,961 vessels.
Apo Belokas, Managing Editor at SAFETY4SEA, commented: “The 2026 results show progress, but they also show why a genuine culture of care must go beyond policies, programmes and good intentions. Care has to be felt in the everyday experience of seafarers – in manageable workloads, sufficient recovery, meaningful shore leave, access to mental health support, fair conditions and the ability to stay connected with home. Measuring progress is essential, but the real benchmark is whether improvements reach the ship and make life at sea healthier, safer and more sustainable.”
Since its launch in 2019, the survey has sought to provide the industry with a consistent benchmark for crew welfare and encourage a more people-centred approach to life and work at sea. The 2026 edition was sponsored by NorthStandard.
Commenting on the findings, Capt. Yves Vandenborn, Head of Loss Prevention Asia Pacific at NorthStandard, said: "The improvement in this year's SEAFiT Index is encouraging, but the real value of the survey lies in understanding what sits behind the overall number. Seafarers are continuing to raise very practical concerns around workload and recovery, connectivity, shore leave, mental health support and everyday living conditions onboard. Listening to those concerns helps the industry understand where attention is still needed."
The SEAFiT Index remained relatively strong despite a year marked by geopolitical instability, attacks on merchant shipping and heightened security risks in key trading regions.
“A high welfare score should not be mistaken for an absence of pressure. In a year marked by conflict, piracy and prolonged uncertainty, resilience cannot be used as a substitute for protection and support.”, Apo Belokas stressed.
This global welfare index captures the experiences of seafarers across different trades, vessel types and regions, while exposure to conflict, piracy and other security threats is highly uneven. For crews operating in high-risk areas, the psychological and operational impact may therefore be considerably greater than the overall Index suggests.
The findings highlight the importance of considering the different realities experienced across vessel types, trades and regions. They also reinforce the need to assess whether seafarers feel safe, adequately informed and supported when operating in areas affected by conflict, piracy and prolonged uncertainty.