Seafarers’ work in vessels at sea is one of the hardest, most demanding and under very difficult conditions profession. Seafarers often work for very long hours, far from their relatives, isolated in a multicultural, highly hierarchised micro-society. Studies have also shown that bullying is an often phenomenon in ships. This situation often generates mental health problems , which put at risks lives, the vessel, passengers, cargo, the environment from pollution and local coastal economies.

PROmoting MEnTal HEAlth at Sea (PROMETHEAS) is an Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic partnership for VET, development of innovation for the merchant maritime industry. The central aim of this project is to develop a training course and learning resources for seafarers and maritime workers concerning the preservation and improvement of their mental health. It will focus on the various issues that derive from mental health problems and it will provide learners with necessary information and consultation on how to deal with these problems.

Main target group of PROMETHEAS project are captains of merchant navy, seafarers and cadets,
whilst additional beneficiaries will be trainers on mental health and bullying, VET centres and consultants of the sector as well as nautical academies and shipping companies.

Partners are seven organisations (3 maritime universities, 3 private training companies-consultants experienced in the sector and an association of companies of the marine sector with strong links with social partners) coming from 6 countries (Poland, Finland, Greece, Slovenia, Spain and Great Britain).

More specifically, PROMETHEAS will produce three core intellectual outputs:
1. Repository of resources on mental health for maritime staff
2. E-learning course for captains and seafarers
3. Digital app- self evaluation.

It will also organise a joint staff learning activity in Rauma (Finland), on the “Design and initial development of training contents on mental health of captains and seafarers” and 6 multiplier events in Szczecin, Rauma, Ljubljana, Cadiz, Piraeus and Coventry.
Dissemination activities include:

  • Development of Dissemination and exploitation strategy
  • Development of website/ social media (Facebook, LinkedIn)
  • Development of project brand/ logo/ leaflet
  • Establishment of recipient lists for dissemination
  • Development and distribution of five newsletters
  • Articles (EPALE, DISCUSS, University Press, maritime magazines etc.)
  • Presentation in national conferences and events
  • Promotion on Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Updated and final exploitation strategy

All partners will utilise their dissemination networks and will also involve in the project EU wide networks and international organisations such as IWHO, ILO, European Transport Workers (ETF), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) etc.

PROMETHEAS has embedded activities , such as numerous focus groups and extensive piloting embedded in the project plan to ensure the quality of project results. Around 15,000 persons belonging to the target groups are expected to be reached within the project lifetime.

The project is innovative as:

  • mental health and bullying in vessels are subjects that Erasmus+ projects have not tackled up to now;
  • it will use a holistic approach to seafarers’ well being including diverse range of physical, emotional, cultural and organisational factors (and respective exercises);
  • it will take full advantage of digital technologies and deliver training and monitoring application at the workplace instead of relying to the traditional means of training that do not correspond to the actual needs of the target group;
  • it will use the gaming element, having in itself an anti- stress and curative effect on mental health and a rewarding system with badges upon completion of each stage of acquisition of learning outcomes.

Results will be available in English, Polish, Finnish, Slovenian, Spanish and Greek.