Resilience and well-being amongst seafarers: cross-sectional study of crew across 51 ships.

Objectives: Duration at sea was investigated as a potential chronic stressor amongst seafarers in addition to the mediating roles of previous seafaring experience and hardiness between duration and stress.

Methods: In a cross-sectional design, questionnaires were emailed to 53 tanker vessels in an international shipping company with questions relating to duration at sea, perceived stress, personality hardiness and work characteristics. The sample comprised 387 seafarers (98% male) including ratings, crew, officers, engineers, and catering staff that had been on board their ship between 0 and 24 weeks.