As a maritime lawyer who is involved in representing crew members from the Maersk Alabama which was attacked last year, I follow piracy related issues very closely. While it has been disheartening to see little progress made toward preventing these attacks altogether, I was definitely cheered when I read of a new post piracy care program, designed primarily to help shipping companies and families support seamen who have just been through a pirate attack experience.
The guidelines are called Preliminary Guidelines: Post Piracy Care for Seafarers and have been developed by the Seaman’s Church Institute. The SCI has compiled the guidelines using available physiological health research, and by discussing these issues with ship owners, government representatives and other maritime industry representatives. The guidelines were developed as part of the first ever Post Piracy Trauma Assessment and Treatment Study. The study includes identifying the unique kinds of stresses that pirates in hostage situations go through, as well as evaluating coping strategies for seamen and for their families, clinical assessment of seamen, post piracy assessment of families who suffer silently during the traumatic ordeal, and the designing of mental health treatment programs to help the seaman cope over the long term.
The guidelines deal with every stage of the seaman’s experience, right from the time the vessel is taken over by pirates to the time he is able to return back to work after his ordeal. There is plenty of information on helping family members of the seaman deal with their trauma. There are also guidelines to help a seaman and his family identify the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder that are so common after these experiences. The document offers guidelines to maritime employers for helping their workers and families through a nightmare with minimal physical and psychological damage. As a maritime lawyer, I would encourage shipping companies to read the document and adopt these guidelines to help their workers cope with life after an attack.
