The maritime industry is worth over $430 billion in goods and services worldwide and is responsible for the transportation of over 90% of global imports and exports as well as the cruise ship sector which itself is worth an estimated $23.8 billion annually.
At the heart of this complex, 24/7 industry are seafarers, those individuals who navigate difficult, demanding and often dangerous conditions to ensure continuity of service, supply and comfort for others.
The importance of their roles cannot be underestimated, but their living and working conditions can sometimes feel like a secondary concern behind the pursuit of efficiency and speed. Below we’ve set out some observations on the importance of seafarer welfare, those factors that impact seafarers the most and how sustainable, productive changes can be made to ensure better welfare and conditions for seafarers as we move towards a better more sustainable business model.
Understanding Seafarer Welfare
Over 1.8 million seafarers are responsible for keeping the maritime industry operating across the globe. From tankers, barges, fishing, container and cruise ships to offshore platforms and rigs, seafarers facilitate the smooth running of a diverse range of vessels and marine based infrastructure. Many of these marine industry roles require specialist experience and knowledge and day-to-day tasks are often undertaken in extremely difficult conditions. For seafarers, crew and personnel to feel well, safe and productive their wellbeing needs to be the number one priority for vessel owners and operators.
Seafarer welfare encapsulates not only physical health and wellbeing but also mental health and selfcare. All of these can be severely tested by long periods away from home and family while at sea and rapid turnarounds when in port with very little time, if any, for rest and shore leave. Add to that, limited communication facilities and restricted living and leisure spaces while onboard with few home comforts. Any one of these can lead to a negative impact on health and emotional wellbeing, so experiencing many at the same time can be especially challenging.
Of all these factors, the most important provision for seafarers, and one that can cause the worst problems if not undertaken and managed correctly, is the continuous and reliable provision of safe drinking water whilst at sea.
Marine Water Solutions for Seafarers
There are many issues to consider with regards to the supply of fresh, safe drinking water for seafarers and crews across all vessel types. Not least maintaining a regular and reliable supply as well as mitigating any potential negative environmental impacts caused by the collection, movement and storage of a ship’s water supply.
Usually, a ship’s primary supply of drinking water is through bottled water, often in plastic packaging. Aside from the obvious and extensive issue of plastic waste in the oceans, the plastic bottled water industry has wide social and economic problems attached to it. These include the access that poorer communities have to safe drinking water worldwide, the false marketing and sale of municipal tap water as bottled mineral water and the environmental impact that bottling plants and transport have on communities and natural habitats.
When a vessel acquires water not supplied in plastic bottles the supply and transfer procedure for onboard drinking water can often be as follows:
- Water enters the port from source i.e. municipal/local/community supply.
- It is moved onboard using pumps, hoses, water boats and/or barges.
- Onboard it is stored and distributed as needed. Some vessels are equipped to provide drinkable water using other resources including rain or seawater.
At each of these stages it is possible for contamination of various forms to occur, leading to potentially serious health issues for seafarers. Seafarers working for long periods on commercial vessels can find themselves exposed to a variety of harmful bacteria and pathogens when their only source of water is that acquired while in port and stored onboard.
An alternative to this approach are the range of marine water solutions which provide a continual supply of potable water whilst at sea. These provisions ensure safe, clean water for drinking, cooking and showering, water for toilets and for cooling or heating systems which also needs to be clean and filtered to avoid problematic build-ups in systems and mechanisms.
Marine water solutions including filtration and reverse osmosis (RO) systems are valuable tools that provide seafarers and passengers with safe potable drinking water throughout the duration of their voyage. They are becoming more popular and widespread and have an excellent ROI in terms of costs to owners and benefits to seafarers.
These processes work by treating and filtering the available water, removing harmful bacteria and contaminants including chlorine and heavy metals like lead, mercury and arsenic. Expert filtration systems like those installed by specialist marine water solution providers can also retain the minerals that seafarers might need in their drinking water i.e magnesium, fluoride, calcium and zinc.
Many vessel and fleet operators have found that installing onboard marine water solutions offers a more economical and environmentally sound solution to providing safe, drinkable water. Modern onboard filtration and RO systems offer a reliable supply of freshly treated water and coupled with schemes like issuing refillable steel water bottles, companies can save money whilst making a larger, positive environmental impact by drastically reducing their plastic consumption.
Final Thoughts
Providing a supply of safe water is the most vital factor when considering seafarer welfare. Crew and personnel simply cannot function onboard without potable water for drinking and cleaning.
This means that installing marine water solutions is one of the best and most valuable investments vessel owners and operators can make for the safety of their crews. It also reduces the need to rely on either expensive and environmentally damaging plastic water bottles or potentially contaminated port water, creating a better, healthier and more sustainable approach going forwards.