Triton 2025 - Magazine - Page 14
LOSS PREVENTION
LOSSVIEWS
PREVENTION
FIVE
ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING
‘Destigmatise mental health’
From the age of four, Captain Ann Pletschke always wanted to go to sea. Perhaps that wasn’t
entirely a surprise – her father was a maritime lecturer and had himself been at sea for many
years.
However, life has not all been smooth sailing since she joined her 昀椀rst ship at the age of 16, and
her career and experiences have shaped her view on seafarer wellbeing and the way in which
she interacts with her own crew. “I experienced trauma at sea, as well as being on ships where
there have been traumatic incidents,” she says.
Some ship owners and managers understand what life onboard is like – others don’t, she says.
“A lot depends on the experience in the of昀椀ce but also the stock that is put in wellbeing that can
be influenced by ship manager values – both personal and organisational.”
Pletschke, who has served on deep sea vessels and ferries and in the offshore industry, as well
as a spell ashore as an inspector and DPA, in HSE management and in autonomous shipping,
says there is still stigma around mental health at sea – “and this I see remaining for as long as
seafarers can face losing their job if reporting mental health dif昀椀culties.”
The change she would like to see is to “bring seafarer medical guidelines into the 21st century”
to destigmatise mental health and encourage more seafarers to take steps to address mental
health concerns without fear of losing their livelihood. “The prevalence rates of mental health
complaints in society and in studies of seafarers do not reflect the statistics of seafarer
disclosures in medicals or anecdotal evidence of seafarers getting help – and I’d love this to
change.”
She says one of the biggest changes for seafarers in recent years has been connectivity,
enabling them to maintain contact with supportive friends or family or even continue therapy
when at sea, to promote and improve their wellness. However, she warns, ships are being run
more on the margins of minimal crew levels, with operating to the maximum hours of work
allowed – in many cases in shortsea shipping on six-hour watches. She has seen the effects of
fatigue on her own wellbeing and that or her crew.
A captain can create a supportive and safe environment for their crew by being caring, vulnerable
and assertive and creating a culture where it’s ok to speak up or speak out, says Pletschke.
Among the steps she takes to ensure a healthy work-life balance for her crew is to ensure the
internet stays on – maybe planning for an anchorage known for 4G signal – and arranging
watches where possible to give them longer rest periods of time to step ashore in port.
Social time is still one of the most effective tools to build cohesion but one that is hard to
achieve with small crews and busy ships, she said. “I started off as a cadet on ships that
still had a ship’s bar and that social time really did foster a spirit of community
on board. That is hard to create on ships with limited recreation spaces
– however, I do encourage the crew to get together ashore where
schedule and workload permits.”
Capt Ann Pletschke is a serving ship’s captain
and Managing Director of Trinity Maritime Ltd.
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14 // Triton
Triton 2025
2025
