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Hawkins, (1999). Concluded in his study “Significantly enough the question of seafarers welfare, particularly in the hands of unscrupulous ships officers and operators, merited very little mention. Overall, protection of the environment was cited more frequently than improvement of seafarers`s living conditions on board ships. This in itself is symptomatic of yet another fundamental, and ultimately sadder, problem in the maritime industry.” Barnes, (1987). Couper, et. al. (1999) and Neilson, (2000) are in general agreement with the conclusions of Hawkins in the neglect of seafarers living, working condition and occupational health regardless of diversity of nationality of researchers.

INTERTANKO, warned about detention of masters may hit oil supplies (July,13, 2000) in Lloyd`s List, The report points towards unlawful detention of tanker Masters, trend of detaining and prosecuting seafarers continues, this is also reported in Maritime Officer (June, 2000) with a caption ”Prosecute Survivors: Its is a mark of civilization”. The uncivilized treatment given to the Master of The Erica by the authorities after the incident is widely reported, only points to the negative profile and the attitude of the society towards seafarers.

Couper, has given detailed accounts of the facelessness of the unscrupulous ship owner attempting to deprive the rights of seafarers in the case study of Adriatic Tankers in voyages of abuse. The situation in this respect remains unchanged.

The international unions and federations in tandem with national unions and federations work together towards maintaining human dignity and higher remuneration. These endeavours have largely focused towards financial remuneration and other welfare benefits. However, the focus of trade union activities has generally not been in the direction of emotional, personal wellbeing and mental health issues.

The mental health aspect is as important as physical health because these are linked with the emotional state of a person. The events, situation, circumstances, conditions and other people/ persons on board ships in marine working conditions are the factors influencing and interacting with the mental, physical, and emotional responses of an individual.

The differences of cultures, religion, languages and societies in principle will produce adaptation towards the goals of universal integration of people on the long term basis, but in short term and immediate terms when sufficient time is not available for adjustment, the situations and circumstances cause impossible challenges leading to disasters and catastrophes. (Scandinavian Star Incident) The disparities illustrated in the tables and graphs mentioned above show a wide range of variance in remuneration among officers and among crew for the same work performed. The dividing line between officers and crew is the shortage scenario for officers and surplus scenario for crew in the context of job security. The consequent contrast of security and insecurity in the same place of work between officers and crew cannot be conducive to harmonious human relations on board ships. Hence it is analysed that environment on board such ships can be surcharged with under current of suspicion and misgivings. This is not a healthy sign at all, particularly because a ship is exposed to forces of nature it combines with emotional and social deprivation contrastingly different from normal life ashore. The remedy is in more awareness of respective roles and responsibilities of each group. Understanding by the officers of aspirations of the ratings and gradual development of mutual respect, trust and acknowledging the interdependence. Hawkins, (1994). Stated:

In Taylor`s work at the end of the 19th _{century money was considered of} paramount importance in creating motivation at work. Today it is known that once incomes rise appreciably above subsistence levels dissatisfaction with relative incomes is far more powerful sentiment than dissatisfaction with

absolute income. In other words, not that any income is not enough but some other comparable person is getting more

The tough challenging and unpredictable marine environment is coupled with problems of forming human interpersonal relationships, with emotional and sexual deprivation. These circumstances of employment not only demand good physical state but also good mental state.

Considering the coping and adaptation requirements in seafaring profession, Barnes, (1987) Described effective adaptation and personality integration as follows:

The first criterion of good adjustment is freedom from inner conflict. A well- adjusted person presents a solid, unbroken front to the world and is free from competing trends from within. Integration means the resolution of conflicting personality trends. In an integrated person the super ego is in harmony with basic drives. Further integration shows itself in an ability to concentrate on ones energies on a single goal or, at least on a small group of harmonious and compatible goals. Hence, the energy of different drives in an integrated person is expanded on the outside world for effective adaptation

Ships operate in a highly dynamic environment, frequently people on board follow a set routine of shift work disrupted by arrival at, working in, and sailing from ports. This is an existence, which involves living in a place of work for prolonged periods, creating a unique form of working life, which almost certainly increases the risk of human error.

To withstand these physical, sociological and psychological stresses, the seafarers need to possess high ego strength to have adequate personality integration and

adjustment. The studies in this context are conducted in the Indian maritime industry pertain to crew and the officers by Barnes, (1987). The mental make up of the officers is of greater importance than crew as the responsibility for the safe and efficient ship operations is placed with officers.

According to Copmeratore & Kingsly, (1999) crew endurance levels are affected by the interaction of the following factors:

• Mental State

• Body Clock

• Sleep Environment

• Physical Conditions

The duration of tour of duty ranges on an average from three months to nine months and in the context of Swedish ships is around six months. The working conditions on merchant ships can involve extreme temperatures, more than eight hours average work, prolonged separation from family and fatigue. The above four factors are described as under:

• Mental State Includes impact of stress, anxiety and emotions. A healthy mental state not only means physical fitness but also the impact of environment and adjusting and adapting ability depending on the response of an individual or group of individuals working together to a situation/situations, occurrences, or events. Mental health is connected to adjustment, personality integration and ego-strength according to Barnes, (1987).

• Body Clock: Includes morning or night person, daylight exposure, and biological synchronization. The internal clock and circadian rhythm regulates the daily cycle of activity and inactivity of an individual. It causes sleepiness at certain time spans in the early morning and afternoon.

• Sleep Environment: includes light control, noise reduction, smell, temperature, living accommodations, recreational facilities and medical facilities.

• Physical Conditioning: includes exercise, sleep and nutrition and workloads. The conclusions drawn by Comperatore et. al. (1999) are that safety depends upon endurance. The endurance levels vary from person to person depending on physical and mental health, also the number of work and rest hours and total duration of service. In my view the mental stresses accumulate over a period of time, rest hours alone do not provide the remedy.