Author: Zhang Yi (COSCO Shipping Bulk)
Abstract: During their work and life on board, seafarers face numerous challenges and pressures, and shipboard illnesses occur frequently. This not only affects the health and safety of the seafarers themselves but also threatens the safe operation of the vessel. The author has reviewed the company’s cases of shipboard illnesses in recent years and found that they mainly involve more than ten different symptoms. The data behind these cases reflects the many health challenges seafarers face during voyages and further highlights the importance and urgency of safeguarding their physical and mental health.
I
Common Types of Shipboard Illnesses
Based on cases of shipboard illnesses occurring from 2020-2025, the common causes can be summarized into 7 major categories, ranked by frequency as follows:
1
Urinary System Diseases
(1) Kidney /Ureteral stones
(2) Urinary tract /Pyelonephritis
2
Digestive System Diseases
(1) Appendicitis
(2) Stomach /Gastrointestinal diseases
(3) Intestinal /Gastrointestinal bleeding
3
Musculoskeletal and Joint Sprains
(1) /Bone cracks
(2) Lumbar disc /Strain
(3) /Tenosynovitis
4
Respiratory and Infectious Diseases
(1) /Respiratory infections
(2) /Dengue fever
(3) Acute hepatitis
5
Cardiovascular and Neurological Diseases
(1) Cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases
(2) Angina /Hypertension
6
Mental Health Issues
(1) /Anxiety disorders
(2) Sleep disorders
7
Other High-Incidence Diseases
(1) Facial /Neuritis
(2) Skin and ophthalmological diseases
(3) /Dental diseases
II
Analysis of Causes of Shipboard Illnesses
1
Environmental Factors
(1) Damp working environments, which easily lead to rheumatism, joint swelling, and pain.
(2) Relatively enclosed working and living environments, where sharing utensils and daily necessities in collective living is common. Once respiratory infections or other contagious diseases occur, the probability of mutual infection is high.
2
Occupational Factors
(1) Unreasonable dietary structure on board, with high intake of animal protein and high-purine foods, and low intake of vegetables and fruits, easily leading to conditions like the “three highs” (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia) and fatty liver, also laying hidden dangers for cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases such as cerebral infarction and angina pectoris.
(2) Long-term insufficient water intake, high-salt diet, and sedentary work patterns easily induce symptoms like kidney stones, ureteral stones, and urinary tract infections.
(3) Heavy physical labor positions (e.g., sailors and motormen) directly related to moving heavy objects and working on slippery decks, as well as factors like ship pitching and rolling, easily lead to lumbar disc herniation, joint strain, and fractures.
(4) Long-term mental tension among crew, disruption of biological clocks and eating rhythms caused by shift duties, rapid changes in air pressure and temperature during voyages, and seasickness and vomiting due to encountering storms and rough seas easily lead to chronic gastritis, digestive tract ulcers, acute appendicitis, cholecystitis, and intestinal obstruction.
(5) Factors such as long-term separation from family, social isolation, monotonous and lonely life, harsh working conditions, dangerous or enclosed operations, facing various maritime risks, information isolation, limited activity range, and frequently disrupted biological rhythms have led to a significant increase in mental illnesses like depression and anxiety among crew in recent years.
3
Voyage-Specific Factors
(1) Ocean-going vessels need to call at numerous ports in different regions of the world, making crew more susceptible to threats from epidemics worldwide. Examples include malaria on African routes, dengue fever in Southeast Asia, and yellow fever in Brazil. Once infected, port state quarantine policies further intensify, increasing the difficulty of crew repatriation.
(2) Factors such as scarce medical resources on board and difficulties in sending crew ashore for medical treatment mean that often, crew illnesses do not receive timely and effective treatment, and minor conditions can sometimes develop into serious ones.
III
Preventive Measures for Shipboard Illnesses
The health status of crew is not only related to the safe navigation of the vessel but also the fundamental guarantee for the sustainable development of the shipping industry. Therefore, various preventive measures should be strictly implemented before crew board the ship and during their service to ensure their physical and mental health and personal safety.
1
Before Boarding
(1) Conduct thorough health screening
Start from aspects such as physical examination standards, process management, and record tracking to ensure the examination items comprehensively and accurately reflect the crew’s health status, improve the quality of crew physical examinations in all aspects, and strive to ensure crew board the ship healthy.
(2) Conduct crew health education and training
Provide health education and training before boarding, allowing crew to understand the causes, symptoms, and emergency response methods of common diseases on board. Master the simplest self-health check methods to preliminarily determine health or abnormalities by observing their own surface appearance, color, and sensations.
(3) Ensure complete vaccination
Crew should be fully vaccinated with relevant vaccines based on the route and ports of call.
2
During the Voyage
(1) Improve dietary structure and ensure food hygiene management
Carefully plan menus for long voyages, ensuring a balance of meat and vegetables, and promptly replenish fresh fruits and vegetables when the ship is in port. Implement strict hygiene management for food storage, processing, preparation, kitchen sanitation, and utensil disinfection.
(2) Equip backup medicines and first aid equipment
While stocking backup medicines as required by international conventions, increase emergency equipment for sudden cardiac events to buy time for sending patients ashore for抢救 (rescue) and safeguard crew lives.
(3) Strengthen daily monitoring of crew physical and mental health
Regularly organize crew to measure weight, temperature, blood pressure, etc., and compare the data over time. Promote and普及 (popularize) mental health knowledge, and pay close attention to individual crew members’ states. When a crew member’s emotional expression on board is significantly abnormal compared to usual, the Captain and Political Officer should promptly understand the situation and provide care. If the situation is serious, contact the company as soon as possible or obtain guidance from shore-based professional psychologists. If the situation persists, consider arranging for the crew member’s repatriation.
(4) Strengthen positive guidance
Strengthen ideological work among crew, value the individual worth of seafarers, and meet their self-development needs. Enrich seafarers’业余生活 (leisure life), and carry out physical exercise regularly, planned, and organized.
(5) Provide remote medical support
Designate medical institutions for remote crew diagnosis and treatment, ensure smooth and timely ship-shore communication, and provide professional, stable, and round-the-clock remote medical service support.
(6) Enhance health knowledge publicity
During the voyage, regularly conduct publicity and education on health knowledge such as nautical health science, nautical psychology, and infectious disease prevention, so that crew possess strong health protection awareness.
(7) Conduct emergency response drills for crew physical and mental health
Develop emergency response plans for major diseases, infectious diseases, and crew psychological abnormalities, and organize crew to conduct emergency response drills.
(8) Proactively implement infectious disease prevention
Shipowners and operators should fully understand and pay attention to common infectious diseases at the local ports of call, or detailed information about recent local outbreaks of infectious diseases, and implement preventive measures in advance to ensure vessel navigation safety and crew personal safety. When calling at ports in infectious disease risk areas, strengthen crew safety education, take reasonable protective measures, avoid and切断 (cut off) contact with sources of infection, such as gangway control, food and freshwater control, etc.
