Seminar on Seafarers' Health
With a renewed focus on the physical and mental wellbeing of seafarers, ISWAN is organising a seminar on the health of seafarers in Copenhagen on Thursday 10 November at the Danish Ship Owners Association.
ISWAN is committed to continuously reviewing the health challenges faced by seafarers and encouraging collaborative efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of seafarers. This seminar aims to achieve the following:
1. Highlight the most prevalent health issues affecting seafarers
2. Discuss current programmes with proven positive impacts on seafarers’ health
3. Focus on areas of health improvement that need further development
The seminar will feature presentations by several key figures in the industry, and will cover topics such as the top health concerns at sea, mental wellbeing of seafarers, diet and nutrition on board, and case studies in both physical and mental health. The focus will be on innovative long term improvements to seafarers' physical and mental wellbeing.
Seafarers’ Health Seminar Agenda
(Subject to change)
Wednesday 9th November
19:00 Delegates’ dinner (venue TBC)
Thursday 10th November
9:00: Registration and coffee
9:30: Introduction from Per Gullestrup, Chair of ISWAN and former director of Clipper
9.35: Welcome from Anne Steffensen, Director-General of Danish Ship Owners Association
9:45 Session 1: Top health concerns at sea – Louise Hall, Head of Loss Prevention Shipowners’ P&I Club
10:00 Session 2: Keeping seafarers healthy:
Speaker 1: Connie Gehrt, Director SeaHealth,
Speaker 2: Torbjorn Husby, Norwegian Maritime Authority
Speaker 3: Bjorg Borger, Union Officer at Norwegian Seafarers Union
10:45 Session 3: Seafarers’ Diet and Nutrition – Chris Little, Global Operations Support Manager, Garrets International
11:00 Coffee Break
11:15 Session 4: Shipping Company case study (physical health) - Tjeerd van Noord, MF Shipping Group
11:30 Session 5: Mental wellbeing of seafarers – Dr Olivia Swift
12:00 Session 6: Shipping Company case study (mental health) – Pradeep Chawla, Managing Director, QHSE and Training , Anglo Eastern
12:15 Session 7: Mental wellbeing of seafarers: Interactive panel discussion
12:45: Lunch
(PM sessions to be chaired by Dr Suresh Idnani - Senior Medical Advisor to the Norwegian centre of Maritime Medicine in Norway)
13:30: Introduction by Dr Suresh Idnani
13:45 Session 8: Health improvement and innovation – Kimberly Karlshoej, Head of ITF Seafarers Trust
14:15 Session 9: The role of welfare organisations in promoting seafarers’ health
Speaker 1: Rev Jaakko Laasio, Director for Work among Seafarers ,The Finnish Seamen’s Mission
Speaker 2: Soren Sorenson, Director of Danish Seafarer Service
14:45 Session 10: ISWAN’s health programmes
15:15: Final remarks from Chair
15:30: Ends
Supported by 
The Shipowners’ Club is the leading global insurer for small and specialist vessels. We have been protecting shipping operators for 160 years, since we first began providing mutual P&I insurance in 1855. We pride ourselves on having profound knowledge of ships and shipping internationally that is second to none. Our teams are all experts in their respective fields, with a number having first-hand seafaring experience around the world. As market leaders, we insure over 32,000 small and specialist vessels, entered through a global distribution network of over 600 brokers.
We offer peace of mind to vessel owners, operators and managers through our Protection & Indemnity (P&I) cover and various associated insurances that cover key seafaring industries. We are also a member of the International Group of P&I Clubs, which represents over 90% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage and provides a voice for vessel owners’ views on legislation, conventions and regulations that impact on their operations.
We are excited to have partnered with the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN), whose ethos sits naturally alongside the Club in aiming to assist Members with all aspects of risk mitigation. As a partner, the Club will contribute towards ISWAN’s Seafarers Health Information Project (SHIP), an initiative that promotes and distributes health information materials to shipping companies, seafarers’ centres, and direct to seafarers.