These results imply that at least for the first 24 weeks at sea, exposure to the seafaring environment did not act as a chronic stressor. The confined environment of a ship presents particular opportunities to introduce resilience and work support programmes to help seafarers manage and reduce stress, and to enhance their well-being at sea.

Background: Seafarers are amongst occupational groups with the highest risk for stress, a factor known to impact on mental health. Psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and alcohol or drug dependence are recognized health problems within the maritime sector. The primary aim of this study was to identify which individual and occupational factors, known to impact on psychological functioning across the maritime industry and other sectors, best predict perceived stress and job satisfaction among a sample of merchant seafarers.Methods: Secondary data analysis was conducted using a work experiences and attitudes questionnaire administered by a large shipping company to seafarers within their organization. Structural equation modeling was conducted using a proposed theoretical model of perceived stress and job satisfaction in a sample of merchant seafarers.Results: While the structural equation model produced acceptable fit to the sample data according to numerous goodness-of-fit statistics, the comparative fit index and Tucker-Lewis index results indicated less than satisfactory model fit. The model explained 23.8% of variance in the criterion variable of perceived stress, and the strongest predictive effect was for dispositional resilience. The model explained 70.6% of variance in the criterion variable of job satisfaction, and the strongest predictive effect was for instrumental work support.Conclusion: When addressing the psychosocial well-being of merchant seafarers, findings of this study suggest that dispositional resilience may be a particularly important factor with regards to perceived stress, while instrumental work support appears to be a critical factor in relation to job satisfaction. Importantly, however, an overall work environment that is perceived by employees as supportive, equal and just is a cornerstone for the psychosocial well-being of seafarers.

The Shell Health Resilience Programme was developed to promote thriving of workers on and off shore. It is a voluntary resilience intervention comprising 12 modules based on positive psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy, neuro-linguistic programming, and research on leadership. The programme is delivered to individual teams by lay facilitators who are usually team members. The 12 modules are driven by team interaction, with the facilitator setting the scene and coordinating activities and discussion. The programme can be completed as slowly or as quickly as desired by the team. Prior to trialling at sea, the programme had already been adopted in multiple locations onshore.Adoption at sea posed some challenges due to circumstances specific to life on a ship. The ships were in remote locations most of the time, limiting the availability of seafarers for training as facilitators. This also meant that more facilitators needed to be trained as each ship required their own facilitator. The working pattern required seafarers to stay on board for several months, followed by a similar length of shore leave, meaning that a sufficient number of facilitators needed to be available on each ship to ensure continuity of the programme. The staggered

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