Problems of 6,400 seafarers and their families were resolved during 2013, according to the 2013 Annual Review for SeafarerHelp issued by the International Seafarers’ Welfare Assistance Network (ISWAN).
SeafarerHelp is a free 24 hour multi-lingual helpline for seafarers. There was a 35% increase in the number of new cases handled by the SeafarerHelp team, and an increase of 47% in the number of seafarers assisted compared to the previous year.
The most common problems seafarers faced were unpaid wages, problems with repatriation, contractual problems, sub-standard conditions on board, and health issues. Most of the contacts that SeafarerHelp receives are referred on to specialist organisations for direct assistance.
These include the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and welfare organisations such as Mission to Seafarers, Apostleship of The Sea, and the Sailors Society.
Other agencies which assisted included national embassies, harbour authorities, and medical service providers.
[mappress] Press Release, July 11th, 2014