Many shipping companies have responded to the mental health crisis at sea by providing seafarers with access to professional online and telephone counselling services.

To be effective, access is frequently provided free of charge in a location on the ship that provides privacy.

Providing access to counselling is a good first step, but mental health practitioners argue that companies need to develop comprehensive mental health programmes for seafarers.

A growing number of enlightened shipowners and managers are doing just that.

Shell has since 2019 implemented a seafarer well-being programme that coordinator Cerian Mellor describes as "translating research into tangible programs aimed at reducing stigma and supporting seafarer well-being".

The programmes, developed in partnership with healthcare practitioners, are made available to all ships that are chartered by Shell, while online resources are available free to the industry at www.maritimewellbeing.com

"There is much to do to make definitive cultural and behavioural change both at sea and shore," Mellor said.

A key component of Shell's programme to promote and protect well-being is teaching resilience skills, giving seafarers the capability to bounce back.

"It is possible to develop resilience techniques by training our brains to see how stressful, problematic situations make us feel so that we are able to respond as positively as possible when bad things happen," said Mellor.

"Practising them, just as you would your emergency response capability drills and exercises, can help crews learn from each other. Crucially, to enable anyone to be resilient and perform at their optimum, we need to take a step back and consider our overall approach to physical and mental well-being."

Mellor admitted that behavioural change is not easy.

"When it came to implementing the policies, we quickly came to recognise that every company, even every vessel, is different.

"Many organisations have robust policies and programmes in place but often they don't recognise the relevance these have to addressing the factors that influence well-being," she explained.

Mellor also stressed that the programmes should not be just a one-off activity. It must be done continuously.

"Knowledge and awareness are often lost after the first crew change," she lamented.