Insight

Health Studies

Re:fresh is part of our Loss Prevention Programme. It is a dynamic Health Risk Assessment and Management tool that conceptualizes health and wellbeing on a group level. A Re:fresh study will give you insight and understanding of areas that might need special attention in order to maintain and improve health and wellbeing. Furthermore, it will enable you to take initiatives towards work-place intervention progammes where the seafarer is empowered towards personal lifestyle changes and behavioral changes that will influence personal health positively.

By systematically surveying seafarers, Re:fresh is the most comprehensive global maritime health and wellness tracker based on scientific health models.

Marine Benefits AS started the Re:fresh programme in 2016 with the study on Indian seafarers. Our latest Re:fresh study focus solely on the wellbeing of seafarers and was carried out in 2020 as an industry study to assess the seafarers wellbeing during the pandemic.

The vision of Re:fresh is to improve the health and wellbeing of the modern seafarer, and in turn reduce costs and risks onboard the vessel – making the ship a safer environment.

Physical wellness promotes proper care of the seafarers’ bodies for optimal health and functioning. Overall physical wellness encourages the balance of physical activity, nutrition and mental wellbeing to keep bodies in top condition. The crew will in turn sharpen their senses, create a safer vessel and improve the overall emotional wellness.

Spiritual wellness allows crew to be in tune with their spiritual selves. It can be defined through various factors including religious faiths, values, ethics and morals. Finding their spiritual wellness; the crew will develop a harmony with their inner self and to the rest of the crew.

Re:fresh is a management tool tracking health and wellbeing of seafaring crew through a systematic and holistic approach, emphasizing on the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) objectives. Re:fresh is also part of Marine Benefits’ Loss Prevention Programme offered to clients.

Psychological wellness or emotional wellness inspires self-care, relaxation, stress reduction and the development of inner strength. It is important for the crew to be attentive to both positive and negative feelings and be able to understand how to handle these emotions. This type of wellbeing encourages autonomy and proper decision-making skills.

Social wellness refers to the relationships crew have and how they interact with others. It involves building healthy, nurturing and supportive relationships as well as fostering a genuine connection with those around them. Social wellness enables seafarers to create boundaries that encourage communication, trust and conflict management.

Shipsworker talking through the walkie-talkie with the ocean view in the background.

The past 2 years have been very different and very challenging for all, but perhaps particularly for seafarers

In September 2020, Marine Benefits invited clients of Marine Benefits and Norwegian Hull Club to participate in a study specifically relating to seafarers’ mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19.

27 companies participated and more than 17.000 seafarers answered the questions on psychological and social aspects of life both on board and at home – leaving us with results that we could compare to our Re:fresh studies carried out before the pandemic. The full Re:fresh Wellbeing (2020) edition report is available below.

In February and March 2022 we did a follow-up study to the first Wellbeing edition, this time with 44 participating companies and a total of around 25.000 seafarers answering the same questions. The results are presented in the Re:fresh Wellbeing 2022 edition report.

We hope that these reports will give increased focus on promoting seafarers’ wellness as well as giving structured input on areas that could be focused on going forward.

Read the 2020 report