How To Stay Sane At Sea During COVID-19 Lockdown

We asked two mariners for their thoughts. Captain Jens-Christian Schou is responsible for the 120,000 tonne container ship Cap San Lorenzo, operated by Maersk, which is currently under sail off the coast of Brazil. Captain Chris Brandon, now retired, served in the British Merchant Navy for 19 years; as chief officer of a BP oil tanker he was responsible for crew management, including on one 14-week journey from Kuwait to Rotterdam.

What are your priorities when it comes to managing a crew during long voyages?

Captain Schou (J-CS): It is important to find the balance between keeping the crew safe and getting the job done. In general, the safe execution of all our work is my daily priority. An equal priority is to keep my crew happy and the ship well-stocked, so we can continue to do what we do best – delivering the cargo where it is needed.

I talk a lot to my crew onboard to see how I can help them – in case they have some private issues that they need help to solve. That comes with the job description. You are a bit of everything as a captain – mother and father, priest, police officer and the person to whom you can let off steam when needed.

For us seafarers, it is not only our own wellbeing we are concerned with but also our loved ones far away. I am worried about my own wife and kids, even more now during the COVID-19 crisis, and I am very open about this onboard. It is important to talk about it; we need to be able to express ourselves and trust each other. My crew know that they can come to me whenever they need me, if they want to express their worries or complain about anything – and believe me, seafarers complain a lot; I am always there for them. We captains know that if seafarers stop complaining then something is wrong, so we know if it is happening then everything is as it should be.

Captain Brandon (CB): Maintaining good morale and preventing boredom becoming an issue were my top priorities. We did this by keeping the crew gainfully or meaningfully employed, or by keeping them entertained with activities such as deck games, quizzes, films, competitions and training exercises.

It was also important to monitor the crew’s social activity and to avoid the formation of cliques or bullying. I also kept an open door; listening to their concerns and being seen to have listened, and then making them part of the solutions to any problems.

What are the biggest challenges in this regard?

CB: Maintaining good morale without compromising discipline can be a challenge, and finding meaningful tasks can be difficult after a couple of weeks once routine tasks are completed.

Intolerance can become a dangerous social issue if not identified and managed early. While someone’s less acceptable traits may be tolerated over short periods, they can become irritating over an extended period and can lead to open hostility.