Stress is often considered an unavoidable part of seafaring life. Long hours, isolation, and operational pressures are expected but a silent and often misunderstood force is eroding seafarer wellbeing from within: grief.

Traditionally, grief is seen as a response to death, short-lived, with a clear beginning and end. In reality, grief is broader, more complex, and deeply pervasive, particularly for seafarers working far from home. From missing life milestones to receiving devastating news thousands of miles from loved ones, grief at sea is compounded by distance, duty, and isolation.

“Grief is one of the least acknowledged contributors to mental health challenges in the maritime workforce,” said Gisa Paredes, Psychologist, Managing Director, WellAtSea, member of OneCare Group. “It doesn’t just affect emotions, it can manifest as fatigue, frustration, withdrawal, or even conflicts onboard. Too often, it is misinterpreted as poor morale or poor performance, when it is, in fact, pain.”

Currently, few shipping companies have protocols to support grieving crew beyond minimal bereavement leave. There are no industry-wide standards for addressing the emotional complexity of loss during long contracts at sea. Yet the consequences of neglecting grief are real. Research links unacknowledged grief to depression, substance misuse, burnout, and long-term health risks.

WellAtSea and other maritime wellness leaders are calling on the industry to act. Key recommendations include:

Name it: Make grief a part of mental health conversations, not only grief tied to death, but also grief from absence, distance, and missed milestones.

Train leaders: Equip senior officers and wellness providers with tools to recognize ambiguous grief and respond with empathy.

Build practices: Create onboard peer networks, rituals, or small acts of recognition that give seafarers dignity and connection in loss.

Partner with experts: Collaborate with organizations specializing in seafarer wellbeing to design grief-sensitive support strategies.

“In a profession where we prepare for every kind of emergency, it is time we prepared for grief as well,” Ms Paredes emphasised.