Occupational Medicine 2010;60:54–61
Published online 4 October 2009 doi:10.1093/occmed/kqp133
Suicides among seafarers in UK merchant shipping,
1919–2005
Stephen E. Roberts1, Bogdan Jaremin2, Padmaja Chalasani1 and Sarah E. Rodgers1
...................................................................................................................................................................................
Background Little has been reported on suicides among seafarers and how they have changed over time.
...................................................................................................................................................................................
Aims
To establish the causes, rates and trends in suicides at work among seafarers in UK merchant shipping
from 1919 to 2005 and to compare suicide rates with the general UK population and with seafarers
employed in non-UK shipping.
...................................................................................................................................................................................
Methods
Examination of seafarers’ death inquiry files, death registers and death returns (for a total population
of 11.90 million seafarer-years); literature reviews and national suicide statistics.
...................................................................................................................................................................................
Results
The suicide rate (for suicides at work and unexplained disappearances at sea) in UK shipping fell from
40–50 per 100 000 in the 1920s to <10 per 100 000 in recent years, with an interim peak during the
1960s. Suicide rates were higher for ratings (all ranks below officers) than for officers, for Lascars
(Asian seafarers) than for British seafarers and for older than for younger seafarers and were typically
lower than those in Asian and Scandinavian merchant fleets. The suicide rate (for suicides at work)
among seafarers was substantially higher than the overall suicide rate in the general British population
from 1919 to the 1970s, but following reductions in suicide mortality among seafarers, it has become
more comparable since.
...................................................................................................................................................................................
Conclusions Although merchant seafaring was previously a high-risk occupation for suicides at work, there has
been a sharp fall in the suicide rate in the past 40 years. Likely reasons for this include reductions
over time in long intercontinental voyages and changes over time in seafarers’ lifestyles.
...................................................................................................................................................................................
Key words
Merchant shipping; seafarers; suicides.
...................................................................................................................................................................................
Introduction
Merchant seafaring is a unique occupation that has traditionally been associated with high risks of fatal accidents
[1–4] as well as various diseases [2,5,6]. Although relatively little has been reported on suicides among seafarers,
Scandinavian studies have previously identified high rates
of suicide at work [7,8].
For example, from 1965 to 1977, the suicide was 125
per 100 000 seafarers among Finnish ratings (all ranks
below officers) and 54 per 100 000 seafarers among Finnish officers [7], while an earlier study of Swedish merchant shipping from 1945 to 1954 reported a suicide
rate of 120 per 100 000 seafarers [2]. Swedish seafarers
have also been identified with increased risks of suicide
when compared with general populations. In 1907, the
suicide rate among Swedish seafarers was reported as
1
School of Medicine, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
2
Clinic of Internal, Occupational and Tropical Diseases, Institute of Maritime and
Tropical Medicine, Powstania Styczniowego 9B, 81-519 Gdynia, Poland.
Correspondence to: Stephen E. Roberts, School of Medicine, Swansea University,
Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK. Tel: 144 (0) 1792 513433; fax: 144 (0)
1792 513423; e-mail: [email protected]
20 times higher than that among the male Swedish population of the same age [8], while the Swedish study from
1945 to 1954 reported an increased standardized mortality ratio of 4.37 [2].
Suicide risks among seafarers are thought to be linked
with easy access to a means of suicide (drowning), selection effects in people who go to sea, long-term separation
from family and social networks, heavy alcohol consumption and psychoses [3,9,10]. Little, though, has been reported on long-term trends in suicide rates among
seafarers and how their suicide rates compare with those
for general populations. There is also little known about
the risks of suicide according to factors such as geographical location, season, nationality, rank and age, type of
ship and trade. Suicide rates among general populations
are often higher among populations in northern latitudes
[11] and among lower socio-economic groups [12] and
are often associated with the month or season of the year
[13].
The first objective of this study was to identify all suicides that occurred at work among seafarers who were
employed in UK merchant shipping from 1919 to
2005. Further objectives were to establish the causes
The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.
All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected]
S. E. ROBERTS ET AL.: SUICIDES AMONG SEAFARERS 55
and circumstances of the suicides, to investigate trends in
suicide rates over the 87 year study period and to compare
suicide rates with those for the general British population
and for seafarers employed in non-UK merchant fleets.
Methods
Unlike suicides in all land-based occupations, suicides
among merchant seafarers that occur at work are not usually registered with the local registrars of deaths in Britain
and are not included in occupational mortality decennial
supplements and national mortality statistics. This is because since the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894, suicides
at work among seafarers have been registered separately
at the Registry of Shipping (RSS) or its predecessor, the
Registrar General for Shipping and Seamen. Since 1894,
the captain of a UK ship has been obliged to notify the
RSS of all deaths that occur among the crew.
In this study, details of all suicides at work among seafarers employed in UK merchant ships from 1976 to 2005
were identified through examination of paper death inquiry files held at the RSS and additionally from narrative
and electronic investigation data provided by the principal British marine investigative authority, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB). The causes and
circumstances of the suicides were determined from autopsy reports, death certificates and death registers;
reports of marine inquiries; coroner’s inquisitions and
procurator fiscal’s inquiries; log books; written statements
from the ship’s captain and crew and various other communication documents held in the RSS death inquiry
files.
For the earlier years from 1919 to 1975, details of all
suicides were obtained from annual death returns for UK
shipping, which, importantly, were based on the same
death files at the RSS. However, they did not cover the
World War II period from 1939 to 1946 when information
on suicides was not produced. As described previously
[14], the annual death returns were published variously
by the Board of Trade (for the years 1919–38), the Ministry of Transport (1947–63), the Board of Trade (1964–
68), the Department of Trade and Industry (1969–71),
the Department of Industry (1972) and the Department
of Trade (1973–75).
This study included all suicides at work that occurred
among seafarers who were employed on board UK merchant ships of $100 gross tonnes during the period of 1
January 1919 to 31 December 1938 and from 1 January
1947 to 31 December 2005. The study included ‘confirmed suicides’ that typically refer to seafarers who were
found hanged, who were witnessed jumping overboard
the ship or who left a suicide note before disappearing
overboard. However, many seafarers disappear at
sea—and others in port—in unexplained circumstances.
Although some bodies are subsequently found drowned,
coroner’s inquisitions usually record ‘open verdicts’ in
these cases, while inquisitions are not normally held in
the absence of a body for pathological examination. This
study therefore presents findings separately for the confirmed suicides and for the unexplained disappearances
and drowning.
During the 30 years from 1976 to 2005, there were 57
confirmed suicides and 188 unexplained disappearances
and drowning. Examination of the death inquiry files and
crew statements revealed that there were strong indications of suicide in 75 of these 188 cases (40%). Therefore,
as well as the long-term analyses from 1919 to 2005, this
paper also presents more detailed investigation of the 132
confirmed (57) and probable (75) suicides in UK shipping from 1976 to 2005.
The populations of seafarers annually employed in UK
merchant shipping from 1919 to 1938 and from 1947 to
2005 were also obtained from the annual death returns—
which included information on employment figures—and
from successive government publications and surveys
that were produced by the MAIB [15] and the Maritime
and Coastguard Agency (personal communication). The
populations of seafarers provided in the annual death returns were based on figures compiled from crewing returns held at the RSS. Seafarers were conventionally
counted as if they had been employed for the whole of
each year, including those who were ashore on leave,
or sick, etc., but had not left seafaring, in order to allow
comparison of mortality with other industries. Additionally, the census of seafarers who were serving on board
UK ships on the 1971 census date was used to obtain disaggregated estimates of the populations at risk according
to rank and age group from 1976 to 1980, as described
previously [14].
The number of seafarers employed fell from 278 583
in 1920 to 34 000 in 2005 with an aggregated population
from 1919 to 2005 of 11.90 million seafarer-years. The
number of seafarers who were signed on Asiatic agreements—known as Lascars—was provided annually and
separately from the number of other (mainly British) seafarers from 1924 to 1972. The total population of Lascars
was 2.19 million seafarer-years during this period compared with 6.82 million seafarer-years for all other seafarers.
The suicide rates among seafarers employed in UK
shipping were compared, firstly, with those for the general
population of England and Wales from 1919 to 2005 using suicide figures and populations published by the Office of National Statistics [16,17]. Secondly, they were
compared with those for seafarers employed in nonUK merchant fleets, based on literature reviews from
the period from 1960 to 2005 that used the Medline,
OSH-ROM and CINAHL information sources as well
as hand searching of reference lists and correspondence
with leading investigators internationally. Statistical
methods include cause-specific mortality rates and
56 OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE
95% confidence intervals (CIs), chi-square tests and
Geographical Information System mapping.
Results
From 1919 to 2005, but excluding the World War II years,
there were a total of 1734 suicides at work identified
among seafarers employed in UK merchant shipping
and a further 1511 (unexplained) disappearances at
sea, with corresponding mortality rates of 16.7 and
15.0 per 100 000 seafarer-years.
Of the 132 confirmed or probable suicides from 1976
to 2005, 129 of the deceased (98%) were men and the 3
women were stewardesses on passenger ferries (2) and an
entertainer on a cruise ship (Table 1). The mean age of
the deceased was 36.5 years (SD 5 11.7, range 5 16–
64 years) with 18% aged ,25 years. Seventy-one per cent
of the deceased were British nationals, followed by Indians (14%), Hong Kong Chinese and Barbadians (2%
each).
Although suicides were most common during the
months of June and December, overall, there was no significant association between suicide and the month of the
year. Seventy-seven per cent of the deceased were
employed on board large deep-sea trading ships rather
than in smaller coastal ships, particularly in cruise ships,
tankers and bulk carriers (Table 1). Seventy-eight per
cent of the deceased were employed in lower ranks as ratings or catering staff or stewards, while only three were
ship captains and two were deck officers.
Figure 1 shows the locations of the 132 confirmed or
probable suicides. Seventy-seven per cent occurred at sea,
largely in the North Atlantic, the North Sea, the Indian
Ocean/Arabian Sea and the English Channel, while many
occurred along common trading routes. The 31 deaths in
port occurred mainly in the UK or Europe (58%).
Eighty-one per cent of the confirmed or probable suicides, jumped overboard and 15% hanged, while five variously jumped from heights, cut wrists, asphyxiated in
a tank and drove a car into a dock. Documentation of inquiries and witness statements were available for 106 of
the suicides. The most frequently cited factors were various work-related problems (30% of cases with available
documents); schizophrenia, psychoses and hallucinations
(25%); depression (18%) and marital or girlfriend problems (13%). Although alcohol consumption was underreported in the inquiry documents, 17% were reported
as drinking heavily before the suicide.
There was a reduction in the suicide rate in UK shipping throughout much of the 20th century (Figure 2),
with particularly sharp reductions during the early
1930s and the 1970s and a peak during the late 1960s.
Since the early 1970s, there has been a continual downward trend. Among the general population of England
and Wales, there was also a peak in suicides during the
1960s and a reduction in the past 20 years (Figure
2). Suicide rates were typically higher among (Asian) Lascars than among (mainly British) non-Lascars (Figure 3a
and b).
Suicide rates from 1976 to 1980 were significantly
higher among lower ranks, deck and engine room ratings
(28.9 per 100 000; 95% CI: 20.3–40.0) and cooks/stewards (26.7 per 100 000; 95% CI: 17.6–38.9) than among
higher ranks, captains and deck officers (5.1 per 100 000;
95% CI: 1.0–14.8) and engineering officers (9.3; 95% CI:
4.2–17.5). Suicide rates from 1976 to 1980 were also
higher for older seafarers, aged between 35 and 44 years
(29.8 per 100 000) and $55 years (21.9), compared with
younger seafarers aged ,25 years (9.6) and 25–34 years
(16.0).
On an international scale, the suicide rate in UK merchant shipping has often been lower than those in Scandinavian shipping, although there have been no suicides
in the Swedish merchant fleet in recent years (Table 2). It
has also been lower than in Singapore and Hong Kong
shipping and among British seafarers who take employment with flags of convenience and other non-UK registered shipping.
Discussion
We found that the suicide rate (for suicides at work)
among seafarers in UK shipping fell throughout most
of the 20th century. The suicide rate among seafarers
was substantially higher than the overall suicide rate in
the general British population from 1919 to the 1970s
but has become more comparable since then. Suicide
rates were also higher for ratings than for officers, for Lascars than for British seafarers and for older than for younger seafarers and were typically lower than those in
Scandinavian and Asian shipping.
A major strength of this study is that it is the largest
investigation of suicide among merchant seafarers, an occupation that has particularly easy access to a means of
suicide: drowning. It covers a defined population of .10
million seafarer-years at risk over a long 87 year study period to investigate long-term trends in suicide rates, and it
is based on reliable information sources to ascertain mortality. Additionally, for the most recent 30 year period, it is
based on extensive examinations of paper death inquiry
files and witness statements to establish the causes and
circumstances of the suicides.
There are several limitations to this study that should
be acknowledged. As few British ships carry a ship’s surgeon, the mental illnesses among the deceased that are
summarized in Table 1 were based mostly on descriptions
of symptoms provided by ships’ captains and officers
rather than on clinical diagnoses and opinion. Although
the successive UK government departments that published the seafarers’ annual mortality changed nominally
over time from 1919 to 1975, this would not affect the
S. E. ROBERTS ET AL.: SUICIDES AMONG SEAFARERS 57
Table 1. Summary of the 132 confirmed or probable suicides
among seafarers employed in UK merchant shipping, 1976–2005
Table 1. (Continued)
Factor
Factor
Sex
Men
Women
Age group (years)
,25
25–34
35–44
45–54
55–64
nk
Rank
Captain
Deck officer
Engineer
Deck rating
Engine room rating
Catering/steward, etc
Other
Nationality of seafarer
British
Other European
Indian
Hong Kong Chinese
Other Asian
Other
nk
Residence (UK seafarers)
Scotland
Wales
North East England
North West England
Yorkshire and Humber
Midlands
South West England
South East England
East of England
Greater London
Northern Ireland
Main causal factor citeda
Work-related problems
Marital/girlfriend problems
Other family problems
Physical illness
Other personal problems
Depression
Schizophrenia/psychoses/
hallucinations/hallucinations
Other and unspecified mental illness
Method of suicide
Drowned
Hanged
Other
Location of ship, location of
deceased and method of suicide
At sea, on board—drowned
At sea, on board—hanged
At sea, on board—other
In port, on board—drowned
In port, on board—hanged
n (%)
n (%)
129 (98)
3 (2)
24
36
34
24
11
1
(18)
(27)
(26)
(18)
(8)
(1)
3
2
16
46
14
49
2
(2)
(2)
(12)
(35)
(11)
(37)
(2)
93
6
18
3
5
6
1
(71)
(5)
(14)
(2)
(4)
(5)
(1)
19
7
13
14
6
2
12
13
1
4
2
(20)
(8)
(14)
(15)
(7)
(2)
(13)
(14)
(1)
(4)
(2)
32
14
9
8
8
19
26
(30)
(13)
(9)
(8)
(8)
(18)
(25)
7 (7)
107 (81)
20 (15)
5 (4)
92
8
1
8
12
(77)
(6)
(1)
(6)
(9)
In port, on board—other
In port, ashore—drowned
In port, ashore—other
Month of suicide
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Type of ship
Coastal tradeb
Passenger ferry
Tanker
General cargo ship
Offshore ship
Other coastal ships
Deep-sea tradeb
Cruise ship
Tanker
Container ship
Bulk carrier
General cargo ship
Liquefied gas carrier
Royal fleet auxiliary
Other deep-sea ships
Size of ship (GT)
100–499
500–1999
2000–4999
5000–19999
20 0001
2 (2)
7 (5)
2 (2)
11
9
12
8
13
16
10
11
10
10
8
14
(8)
(7)
(9)
(6)
(10)
(12)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(8)
(6)
(11)
5
3
11
8
2
(4)
(2)
(8)
(6)
(2)
12
22
4
24
17
5
5
6
(9)
(17)
(3)
(18)
(13)
(4)
(4)
(5)
6
20
12
43
51
(5)
(15)
(9)
(33)
(39)
GT, gross tonnage; nk, not known.
a
Since no documentation on causal factors were available in 26 cases, these percentages refer to the number of cases in which documents were available.
b
Ships engaged in coastal trades are defined as ,2000 GT and those in deep-sea
trades as $2000 GT.
case ascertainment of suicides over time in this study.
During most years of the study period, the population
of seafarers could not be disaggregated according to factors such as the age, nationality or rank of the seafarer.
Work-related problems were cited as a major factor in
30% of suicides from 1976 to 2005. These included
conflicts among the crew, disciplinary problems, work
pressure and cancellation of shore leave, suggesting that
poor working conditions are a factor in many suicides
among seafarers. About 20% of the suicides involved seafarers who had marital and other family problems, including impending divorces. Various mental disorders and
psychoses, frequently relating to alcohol misuse,
58 OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE
Figure 1. Geographical locations of the 132 confirmed or probable suicides among seafarers employed in UK merchant shipping, 1976–2005.
50
Suicide rate (per 100 000)
Seafarers - Suicides at work & disappearances at sea
Seafarers - Suicides at work
General population (England & Wales) - All suicides
40
30
20
10
0
1915
1925
1935
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2005
Year
Figure 2. Trends in mortality rates for suicides at work and disappearances at sea among seafarers employed in UK merchant shipping and for suicide
among the general population of England and Wales, 1919–2005.
hallucinations and delirium tremens, were cited in another 20% of cases. Heavy alcohol consumption and psychoses have previously been associated with Northern
European seafarers [25] and would indicate that selection
effects in the populations of seafarers who go to sea have
been an important explanatory factor in the high suicide
rates. Nonetheless, since .80% of the suicides were
drowning through jumping overboard, easy access to this
particular method is probably the most important reason
for the high suicide rates.
Alcohol and drug abuse are strongly associated with
suicide risks. Many of the suicides in this study involved
seafarers who had been drinking heavily in the hours leading up to their deaths. A previous Swedish study reported
similar findings [2]. However, since the 1970s, there has
been a general reduction in the culture of heavy alcohol
consumption among seafarers, which has coincided with
several factors, including faster turnaround of ships in
port with more limited opportunities for seafarers to socialize ashore in foreign countries, reductions in ship
crewing numbers, increased use of Asian and other
non-European crews, more extensive medical examination procedures and increased implementation of alcohol
screening.
We found that suicide rates were higher among seafarers employed in lower ranks, which can be regarded
as a good proxy for socio-economic status and is consistent with previous studies [26,27]. These findings are also
consistent with the general finding that suicides rates increase with lower socio-economic status [12].
The suicide rate in UK merchant shipping fell throughout most of the 20th century, although it increased during
the early and mid 1950s and again during the 1960s. The
reasons for the increase during the 1960s are not fully clear,
although it is compatible with a peak in the suicide rate in
the general British population at this time [16]. Nonetheless, large increases in the use of large ‘cape-size’ deep-sea
trading tankers and ore carriers during the 1960s [28],
which sailed much longer voyages around the Cape of
Good Hope and Cape Horn as they were too large to sail
S. E. ROBERTS ET AL.: SUICIDES AMONG SEAFARERS 59
a)
50
Suicides at work
Non Lascars - Suicides at work
Suicide rate (per 100 000)
Lascars - Suicides at work
40
30
20
10
0
1920
1925
1930
1935
1940
1945
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
Year
b)
70
Suicides at work & disapearances at sea
Non-Lascars - Suicide at work &
disappearances at sea
Lascars - Suicides at work &
disappearances at sea
Suicide rate (per 100 000)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1920
1925
1930
1935
1940
1945
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
Year
Figure 3. Suicide rates (per 100 000 worker-years) among Lascars and non-Lascars employed in UK merchant shipping. (a) Suicides at work and (b)
suicides at work and disappearances at sea.
through the Suez and Panama Canals, would have led to
increased risks of social isolation and may have contributed
to the increases in suicide rates at this time. The effects of
‘war sailor syndrome’ among seafarers who were engaged
in the notoriously hazardous North Atlantic merchant
shipping convoys during World War II may also have contributed to the increases in suicide rates in UK shipping
during the 1950s and the 1960s [29].
The suicide rate in UK shipping was lower than those
reported previously for Scandinavian seafarers [2,7],
which is consistent with lower suicide rates generally in
Britain than in the Scandinavian countries [11]. Suicide
rates in UK shipping were also lower among non-Lascar
(mainly British) seafarers than among Lascars and in
Hong Kong and Singapore shipping. As suicide rates
in the general populations of these countries are often
lower than those in the UK, this suggests that the in-
creased suicide rates among the Asian seafarers may be
linked to some form of occupational exposure.
Several of the deceased who were in disturbed conditions had been placed under observation, sedated, restrained or locked away in cabins and were due for
repatriation or referral to psychiatric services at the next
port of call. They subsequently escaped and jumped overboard. Some who were in a disturbed frame of mind were
sent to their cabins and left without help, and others had
been ridiculed by colleagues. Prevention should include
improvements in training for ship’s officers in the identification and care of seafarers at high risk of suicide as well
as screening of high-risk seafarers during medical examination procedures. It is unclear whether suicide rates are
increased for seafarers when on shore leave, after discharge with illness or injury or after leaving seafaring.
Further research should focus on these areas.
60 OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE
Table 2. A comparison of suicide rates for seafarers employed in UK merchant shipping with those reported for other populations of seafarers since 1960
Merchant fleet
Time period
No. of
suicidesa
Finnish seafarers—ratings
1965–1977
Finnish seafarers—officers
1965–1977
Sweden
1984–1988
18
UK
Denmark
Poland
Singapore
Hong Kong
UK seafarers in non-UK
fleets
Poland
UK
UK
Isle of Man
Poland
UK
Sweden
1960–1975
1986–1993
1985–1994
1984–1989
1980–1995
1986–1995
362
12
4
13
8
7
16
12
8.2
8.0
7.8
7.3
1960–1999
1976–1985
1986–1995
1998–2005
1996–2005
1996–2005
1996–2005
33
43
12
2
1
4
0
5.7
5.9
4.7
2.6
1.6
1.4
0
Suicide rate
(per 100 000
seafarer-years)
Source (reference)
–
125
–
54
Wickstrom G and
Leivonniemi A [7]
Wickstrom G and
Leivonniemi A [7]
Larsson TJ and
Lindquist C [18]
Current study
Hansen HL [19]
Jaremin B et al. [20]
Roberts S [21]
Roberts S [21]
Roberts S [22]
25
Szymanska K et al. [23]
Current study
Current study
Roberts SE [24]
Current study
Current study
Current study
a
For improved comparability with suicide rates in non-UK merchant fleets, the suicide rates for the UK fleet include cases of confirmed or witnessed suicides only.
Key points
• Mortality rates for suicides at work among seafarers
in UK merchant shipping fell throughout most of
the 20th century.
• Suicide rates were found to be higher for ratings (all
ranks below officers) than for officers, for Lascars
(Asian seafarers) than for British seafarers and
for older than for younger seafarers.
• Prevention should include improvements in training for ship’s officers in the identification and care
of seafarers at high risk of suicide.
Funding
Department for Transport (RP578); Maritime and Coastguard
Agency.
Acknowledgements
The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and
not necessarily those of the funding body. The authors are also
grateful to the RSS and Seamen for providing access to their
death inquiry files, the MAIB for provision of narrative death
investigation information and John Crilley of Lloyd’s Register—Fairplay for advice and help with shipping classifications
and legislation.
Conflicts of interest
None declared.
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