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Improve the health, safety and wellbeing of seafarers worldwide through the promotion of increased, quality social interaction and rest time
ISWAN’s Social Interaction Matters (SIM) Project is a long-term ISWAN initiative working to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of seafarers and their families worldwide through the promotion of increased, quality social interaction and rest time for seafarers.
The project was first launched in 2019 with the aim of exploring an under researched area of seafarer welfare – social interaction. From 2020 to 2025, ISWAN has launched three reports focused on surveying and assessing what quality social interaction and rest time looks like onboard commercial, cruise and yachting vessels.
The SIM Project recognises that structural social interaction is integral to sustaining crew wellbeing, operational safety and long-term industry resilience.
Project updates will be posted on ISWAN’s social media and in our e-news:
Phase Three (August 2023 – November 2025)
Phase Three involved an innovative combination of physical, psychological and social data collection tools from maritime partner PsyFyi and wearable technology providers Fitbit. Over three months, 176 seafarers across six different vessels from the commercial, cruise and yachting industry generously shared their daily realities. Their voices helped paint one of the most detailed pictures to date of how social interaction and rest time shapes life at sea.
ISWAN was proud to partner with companies across the commercial, cruise and shipping sector to assess the lived experiences of crews in the commercial, cruise and superyacht industries and how they interact socially:
The Phase Three report was published in January 2026:
Phase Two (November 2020 – February 2022)
Phase Two involved live trials on board 21 different vessels belonging to 10 partner shipping companies, along with two focus groups. The research obtained and examined first-hand accounts from seafarers to explore the impacts, drivers and barriers of social interaction whilst living and working on board.
ISWAN was proud to partner with the following shipping companies operating worldwide:
The Phase Two report, guidance and recommendations were published in June 2022:
Phase One (March – August 2020)
Phase One included a literature review, a survey of 911 seafarers and other maritime stakeholders, ten semi-structured in-depth interviews with maritime stakeholders, and an industry focus group.
The Phase One report and executive summary were published in January 2021:
ISWAN 2022 Seminar
In November 2022, we held a seminar titled ‘The importance of social interaction for seafarers’ wellbeing’ on board the ss Rotterdam, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The event invited stakeholders from across the sector to discuss the project’s findings and recommendations, hear from experts about the relationship between social interaction and wellbeing, and participate in a collaborative workshop to brainstorm ways to take the recommendations forward and affect long-term change.
Connecting Crew campaign
In June 2020, we held a two-week digital campaign to highlight the importance of connecting with others for crew wellbeing.
The SIM Project has been generously funded by the Trinity House Maritime Charity Department for Transport (DFT) Fund – which includes the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) – and is sponsored by Seaspan Corporation.
If you are interested in supporting or working with us on our Social Interaction Matters (SIM) Project, please get in touch with us at [email protected].
Our work
