MarinePALS launches MyMood, a confidential app for seafarers' mental health

Captain Pradeep Chawla, CEO of the training platform MarinePALS, launched a new app called MyMood so that seafarers can assess their mental health without fear of facing discrimination at work. The tool allows crew members to reflect on their well-being and seek support confidentially, since neither shipowners nor crewing agencies can access individual responses or results.

MyMood presents users with a series of questions based on a widely used psychological test that measures emotional distress across three areas: depression, anxiety and stress. According to Trade news, there are 21 questions that are answered weekly or whenever the seafarer feels it necessary, generating an easy-to-understand indication of their emotional state. Ship management international and Hellenic Shipping News note that the responses produce a colour-coded result, and that when the need for additional help is detected, the platform refers users to the International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN), which offers free, confidential and multilingual support through its SeafarerHelp line.

Chawla, former head of training at Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, told TradeWinds that the idea arose six months ago from cases he found troubling: seafarers who reported mental health issues to their captain, received support and recovered, but were later refused re-employment by the company or crewing agency. According to the executive, the aim was to offer crew members a way to assess their well-being without fear of it affecting their career.

Chawla noted that many seafarers know they are not feeling well but still resist speaking up, fearing for their next contract or not knowing how to explain what they are going through, and stressed that before answering personal questions users deserve to know who will see those responses. He added that when someone is going through a difficult time at sea, they may be far from the people they would normally turn to, and should not wait for the situation to worsen before asking for help.

For now, MyMood is available at no extra cost to seafarers whose companies are subscribed to the MarinePALS learning platform, although Chawla said ways are being explored to make it freely accessible to all crew members. The executive also mentioned that seafarers and their families face significant strain due to geopolitical instability, citing as an example those sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, the Black Sea or the Red Sea while attacks on ships continue to be reported.