Seafarers under strain: mental health, wellbeing and pay during Strait of Hormuz disruptions

Overview

The Conversation analyzes how Strait of Hormuz disruptions impact seafarers, noting that more than 20,000 seafarers in the region have been affected and that the global merchant fleet employs nearly 1.9 million seafarers. It links mental health risks such as stress, sleep loss and burnout to prolonged danger, uncertain schedules and limited contact with home, while acknowledging international protections that are unevenly enforced. Original publisher: The Conversation.

• Seafarers face constant risk, long watch cycles and disrupted circadian rhythms
• Better staffing, rest and access to medical care are essential for wellbeing
• Pay disparities and discrimination can compound stress and burnout
• International and national rules offer protections, but gaps remain

Introduction

The Strait of Hormuz crisis has drawn attention to fuel prices and supplies, but the article argues that the wellbeing of the people who work on ships deserves more focus. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) reports that more than 20,000 seafarers in the region have been affected, including those stranded on vessels unable to leave. Globally, the merchant fleet is staffed by about 1.9 million seafarers, and roughly 80 percent of international trade moves by sea. This means that disruptions ripple through supply chains as much as they do through markets, making seafarers’ mental and physical health a matter of economic and social importance. The piece notes that the disaster’s human dimension is captured in evacuation plans and casualty lists, but not in mental health outcomes that can emerge from extended exposure to danger, uncertainty, and confinement. The author argues that wellbeing must be understood as a continuous process across workers’ lives, not just as a response to a crisis.

Context and Immediate Impacts

The IMO prepared a plan to evacuate about 6,000 seafarers, reporting that around 2,900 had left before the plan was paused. An updated incident list records seafarers killed, injured, or missing. The article emphasizes that these numbers document exposure to danger and physical harm, but do not capture mental health effects, which research shows can persist long after the immediate risk subsides. The situation in Hormuz is part of a broader pattern in which maritime workers face long hours, irregular shifts, and isolation, all of which can harm mental health.

Mental Health Risks and Contributing Factors

Existing research, including a systematic review of 63 studies, links maritime workers’ mental health to perceived unsafety, long or irregular hours, poor sleep, weak social support, uncertain schedules, and extended periods at sea. The article highlights how crew members often live and work in close quarters for months at a time, with round-the-clock operations and rotating watches that disrupt circadian rhythms. Sleep disruption is associated with stress, depressive symptoms, and burnout, and burnout is described by the World Health Organization as an occupational phenomenon involving exhaustion, detachment or cynicism, and reduced effectiveness. In conflict zones such as the Black Sea and Ukraine, seafarers report heightened risk and stress, with sleep loss and reduced contact with families contributing to poorer wellbeing. The piece argues that these conditions are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.

Pay, Contracts and Discrimination

The designation of the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters as a “Warlike Operations Area” by the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the Joint Negotiating Group on March 5, 2026 led to enhanced pay and increased compensation for those on covered vessels, with specific protections including the right to refuse to enter the area and to return home at the company’s expense. Some unions have achieved protections such as double pay for seafarers on Dutch-flagged vessels, but such protections are not universal. The article also discusses wage disparities within crews, noting a Netherlands Institute for Human Rights ruling that discriminated against Filipino and Indonesian seafarers by paying them substantially less than European colleagues performing similar work. These cases show how unequal pay can reinforce status divisions, and they underscore that laws such as the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) provide minimum protections but are not universally enforced or applied.

Policy Frameworks and Practical Protections

The Maritime Labour Convention sets binding minimum terms of employment, including wages paid at least monthly with proper accounting. A separate non-binding guideline supports equal pay for work of equal value on the same ship, but it is not enforceable globally. Research on wage inequality across maritime labor markets indicates that higher pay, family benefits, and training opportunities are associated with greater job satisfaction, though these studies cannot establish direct causation between pay and mental illness due to their cross-sectional nature. The article emphasizes the need for safe staffing, adequate rest, reliable contact with home, access to health care, supportive management, and clear wage bands with independent mechanisms to challenge discriminatory pay. Overtime and hazard pay should reflect work and risk, independent of nationality or residence.

Recommendations and Future Outlook

Protecting seafarers’ mental health requires action at multiple points across their working lives. Employers should ensure safe staffing and adequate rest, provide reliable contact with home, and offer access to medical and psychological care. Management should be supportive, and workers should have a genuine right to leave dangerous areas. Clear wage bands and independent channels for challenging discriminatory pay would strengthen protections. The article argues that the Hormuz crisis is an immediate test of seafarer welfare, but longer-term preparedness depends on governments and the shipping industry treating mental health, safety, and fair employment as interconnected responsibilities before workers reach a crisis point.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the piece frames seafarer wellbeing as a governance and policy issue with broad social and economic implications. It calls for integrated approaches that connect mental health, physical safety, and fair employment to build resilience in maritime labor markets and supply chains.