A former SMOU member, Mr. Norhakim describes himself as a seafarer by passion and an engineer by profession. He finds it pure joy to solve problems faced by his fellow seafarers; and one such problem is how to make life at sea better, safer and happier.

Mr. Norhakim, whose sea career spans close to a decade, is not unfamiliar with the mental health challenges that seafarers face.

Loneliness and homesickness, fatigue, high workload, challenging physical and living conditions, safety; job demands, limited time for recreation, onboard interpersonal relationships and long voyages are factors that contribute to the decline of mental health of seafarers.

He empathises with the cadets especially those sailing on their first ship. “The homesickness can be overwhelming,” he says.

Capt. Anuj concurs. His interactions with seafarers highlight that the most impactful stressor is the distance from family. “This emotional separation often leads to a sense of disconnect within the seafarer, contributing significantly to mental health challenges,” he adds.

“The family plays a significant role in ensuring the positive wellbeing of seafarer. Increased awareness and open discussions within families about mental health issues can significantly improve emotional support. However, many seafarers come from developing societies where discussing such issues remains taboo. If seafarers can openly address mental health concerns within their families, they will be more likely to effectively seek the help they need, to manage their mental health, when ashore.

Mr. Norhakim remembers observing his colleagues exhibiting various signs of distress, such as altered behaviour, decreased appetite, distant gazes, or diminished motivation at work, attributed to various factors. He emphasises the importance of training seafarers to identify signs of distress, enabling them to detect issues early and connect those in need with appropriate assistance. Additionally, he suggests that sharing concerns with a fellow crew member can help alleviate stress, especially when internet access is unavailable.

Sharing a personal anecdote, he vividly remembers how nearly missing his wedding ceremony due to not being to sign-off on time brought about a high level of anxiety and even, anger.

“I dealt with my emotions by working out in the gym, talking it out with my fellow seafarers and playing ping-pong with them; getting encouragement from my fiancée and her shipping director. SMOU also contacted the human resource department of my previous company to find a solution.”

To improve the mental wellbeing of seafarers, his recommendations include bonding over recreational activities onboard; monitoring of the wellbeing of all seafarers, particularly the younger ones; and yes, having internet access on board.

Another pressing concern is the increased workload and reduced crew strength onboard. “The workload gets heavier with not only fewer crew onboard, there is more paper work to complete to comply with more regulations. When I first started sailing in 2011, there were 31 crew members on board. On my last ship in 2022, there were only 22 of us,” Mr. Norhakim observes.

This compels him to create practical solutions to ameliorate the situation by using technology to cutting hours of tedious admin work for the crew on board.

Mascon Technologies created a mobile and web app to “digitise, verify and simplify the manual workflow processes of the seafarers”, he explains.

“We eliminate the paper-based system and multiple data entries. Through a single workflow on a single app, we get the same result of creating and updating all the necessary reports. The crew members are high value individuals and they should focus on doing the high value tasks. With more efficiency, they also get the time to rest.”