国际海员慈善福利组织「The Mission to Seafarers」七月末发布今年第二季海员幸福指数报告，结果令人忧虑，受访海员的幸福指数下降至新冠疫情以来新低。
The Mission to Seafarers has published the latest Seafarers Happiness Index report for the second quarter of 2021 by the end of July, painting a grim picture of seafarer welfare with overall happiness dropping to an all-time low since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
在10项调查指标中，以10分为满分，受访海员的平均幸福指数由今年首季的6.46，下降至第二季的5.99。报告显示，无法「踏足」上岸休假，长时间面对同一工作环境，令海员愈感沮丧。调查机构指出，调查结果表明加快推进新冠疫苗接种计划刻不容缓。调查的三个核心指标包括：海员无法上岸休假，多国未肯确认海员「关键工人」地位及换班危机恶化。
The average score across the 10 questions revealed happiness levels of seafarers for the second quarter of 2021 at 5.99/10, a steep and concerning drop from 6.46
in Quarter 1. Seafarers were becoming frustrated of being constantly in the same environment due to the lack of shore leave. Findings reflected the need for wider vaccination programmes via three core themes; the ban of shore leave in ports, the continued delay in keyworker status and, minimal movement for crew.
禁止上岸休假 引发连锁反应
Ban of shore leave in ports causing knock-on effects
行动自由受阻，合约一再延长，致使海员对海上生活感到厌倦及愤怒。不少海员的从业欲愿被磨灭，有受访海员更称已有一年半时间未曾踏足上岸，这种情况急需业界尽快着手加以改善。
The absence of freedom of movement and continued extended contracts has dashed all the positive thoughts seafarers once had as boredom and irritation about many aspects of life at sea increase. One seafarer who responded to the survey mentioned having experienced one and a half years without setting foot on land, highlighting the dramatic need for the industry to do more.
过长时间无法上岸休假亦对海员身体造成影响。即使海员上船初期兴致勃勃，数月后仍难免会感觉没精打采、懈怠，身心虚耗。
Furthermore, the ban of shore leave and being constantly in a ship for a prolonged period has meant that physical wellbeing is being neglected. Seafarers who had been motivated to stay active during the earlier stages of their trips expressed feelings of lethargy, apathy and physical exhaustion months into their assignments.
近期，多个国家实施新冠疫苗接种计划，海事行业内亦开始实行。主要的船旗国及航海大国，包括塞浦路斯、新加坡、菲律宾、德国及美国，亦在其国内海员中心为船员接种疫苗。鉴于海员幸福指数急速下降，业界应共同推动各国加快疫苗接种的步伐。
The maritime industry has started putting its vaccination plans into action with leading flag states and big seafaring nations including Cyprus, Singapore, Philippines, Germany and the USA leading the way at their respective seafarer centres. However, with happiness levels decreasing, it is time for the industry to ramp up international progress.
工作量、工时俱增，关键工人身份缺乏认可
Lack of keyworker status, despite rising work demands
认定海员为关键工人地位曾成为业界热点话题，惟一段时间后，却沦为了过气式，海员们感到自己已被大众遗忘。因此，关注海员工资水平，确立关键工人地位，认可海员在疫情大流行期间对经济所作的贡献，均需重新重视起来。
While momentum for designating seafarers as key workers was once the topic of conversation, seafarers feel like this has been put on the backburner and they’re no longer ‘flavour of the month’. As a result, concerns over wage rises, key worker status and the fact that seafarers have been indispensable to the world economy during the pandemic have been now brought back to the fore.
更令人担心的是部分海员反映，尽管工作时间长、工作量大，却未受尊重，有些船舶管理公司更涉嫌欺骗船员、苛扣薪金、工资过低，甚至恐吓海员。有海员称每日工作十一至十二小时，比疫情前的八至九小时还要长。
Responses from seafarers also reveal a worrying trend with reports of companies – namely manning agents – lying to crew, withholding pay, underpaying, and even threatening seafarers – despite longer hours and rising workload for seafarers. Some seafarers reported having to work 11-12 hours daily, compared to 8-9 hours before the COVID-19 pandemic.
延期换班恶化，回家机会渺茫
Minimal movement and crew change delays
在以往的海员幸福指数报告中，不少海员对前景趋于乐观，认为疫情即将缓和，疫苗接种亦会为换班危机带来曙光。然而，疫情发展至今，海员们却日渐疑虑、恐惧和不安，在船上感受的压力有增无减。
In previous Seafarers Happiness Index reports, it was possible to see a rising tide of optimism as crews thought that either the pandemic was receding, or that vaccinations would lift the pall of the crew change crisis. The latest responses showed that if people know when they are going home, there is hope. However, if there is doubt, fear and uncertainty, then everything becomes a problem, and the pressures on board seem to be ramping up.
调查机构「The Mission to Seafarers」秘书长Andrew Wright表示，不少国家的疫苗接种计划取得进展，海员却备受忽视。本季度调查结果不单令人忧虑，对比上一季报告，更反映他们的情况正在倒退中。他认为，唯一的解决方法是再次呼吁各国政府及航运业确认海员关键工人的地位，加快为他们接种疫苗，才可能让他们获批准上岸，尽快回家与亲人团聚。更重要的是，海员的声音应受到重视，他们的诉求应该被满足，无论对国际贸易，还是应对疫情，他们功不可没。“过去一年，我们太依赖他们了，他们应该得到更好的对待”。
Andrew Wright, Secretary-General of The Mission to Seafarers said ‘As vaccination programmes in many countries have progressed, seafarers have once again been left behind. This quarter’s Seafarer Happiness Index results are not only concerning but they suggest that the situation is going backwards after the progress that had been made in the last quarter. The only sustainable solution is to once again call on governments and the industry to designate seafarers as keyworkers and speed up the vaccination process for crew, which maybe the only hope of getting them home to their loved ones, as well as permitting them shore leave. More importantly, we must continue to listen to seafarers to ensure that their demands are met. After all, these men and women have been instrumental in keeping global trade afloat including the essential supplies and equipment needed to help support effective vaccination programmes. We have leant far too heavily on them in this past year and they deserve far better’.
资料来源: 「The Mission to Seafarers」
Source: Mission to Seafarers
