Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
BURSA INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND LOGISTICS SYMPOSIUM-II, Bursa, Türkiye, 10 Mayıs 2024, ss.24
War has an undeniable impact on people's lives. Merchant seafarers suffer from these unfavorable events
as well. In war zones and armed conflict areas, commercial ships may be perceived as military targets
even if they carry no military elements. It is possible for civilian commercial vessels to be deliberately
selected as targets during wars. This situation may be motivated by a desire to sabotage strategic ports
and waterways, undermine a country’s trade or disrupt enemy supply lines. It can be observed that the
recent events in the Black Sea and the ongoing incidents in the Red Sea have reached a catastrophic
level for commercial shipping operations, with numerous seafarers perishing in these regions. Ships,
which are essential to carrying much of the World's trade, are targets of missile attacks, mines and even
direct seizures in these regions. These events have been shown to cause death, injury, and physical
damage to seafarers. In addition to physical effects, seafarers working in such tense environments are
likely to experience mental health problems due to the stress and anxiety caused by the wartime
atmosphere. Maritime literature has analyzed cases of PTSD in seafarers exposed to armed attacks and
kidnapping in pirate zones. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no similar study that has
been carried out for seafarers who have been in a war zones.
Unfortunately, cases of war at sea, increasing daily, reach levels that threaten the mental health of
merchant seafarers and increase the need for such studies. However, the mental well-being of seafarers,
who are defined as key workers, is an important area of interest in maritime literature. PTSD studies for
the increasing number of seafarers who are affected by war should become established.