ISWAN Helped 5,520 Seafarers and Family Members Last Year — Here's What They Were Actually Struggling With

5,520 People, 100 Nationalities, One Year

ISWAN's Annual Review 2024-2025 puts a real number on something the industry usually only talks about in general terms: 5,520 seafarers and family members were directly helped over the year, spanning 100 nationalities, through 9,878 calls and messages – 84% of cases handled entirely in-house by ISWAN's own team rather than referred elsewhere.

What People Were Actually Contacting ISWAN About

The case data breaks down into a clear ranking, and it's worth sitting with what's at the top and what isn't:

• Employment and contractual disputes – 16%, the single largest category. Not accidents, not equipment failure – disputes over pay, contracts, and terms of employment.
• Living conditions and onboard culture – 12%. The day-to-day environment on board, not a one-off incident.
• Recruitment and certification issues – 11%. Problems that often start before a seafarer even joins the vessel.
• Mental health – 9%. Still a significant share, and one where the real number of people affected is very likely higher than what gets reported to any helpline.

Read together, employment/contractual issues and recruitment/certification problems make up over a quarter of all cases – a reminder that a large share of seafarer welfare need isn't a crisis on board, it's a paperwork and pay problem that a helpline ends up being the only accessible place to resolve.

New This Year: Reaching the Family, Not Just the Seafarer

ISWAN launched a new Family Outreach Programme in India and the Philippines this year, reaching over 1,100 family members directly – a recognition that a seafarer's resilience at sea is heavily dependent on what's happening at home, and that families have historically had far less direct access to support than seafarers themselves. Alongside this, ISWAN signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with India's Directorate General of Shipping and secured official business registration in the Philippines – both moves aimed at making support more directly accessible in two of the largest seafarer-supplying countries in the world.

How to Actually Get Support

ISWAN's SeafarerHelp line is free, multilingual, and available 24/7 to any seafarer, anywhere – by phone, email, or live chat, at seafarerhelp.org. If you're dealing with an employment dispute, a certification problem, or simply not doing well, this is a real, resourced, first point of contact – not a last resort.

Test Your Knowledge

Know your welfare rights and where to get help — try a quick MLC/welfare round in Crew Connect's free Knowledge Checker.

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• Crew welfare at sea – what flag state advisories tell us about the real risks facing seafarers