Why crew compliance monitoring, verified qualifications and digital traceability must become part of a more trusted maritime environment.
By Selena Jones Guerra | Founder & CEO, Seaman Solutions | Former Crew Certification Manager, Panama Maritime Authority
Introduction
International shipping is navigating a period of significant geopolitical uncertainty. Attacks on commercial vessels, disruptions to shipping routes and emerging security threats are changing the risks faced by seafarers. While the industry discusses freight rates, insurance and alternative routes, we must ask: what is happening to the people who physically navigate these waters? Are we adequately preparing them, are we verifying their qualifications and protecting their well-being?
When global conflicts become a seafarer’s reality
In September 2026, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reported at least 80 verified attacks against international shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the Middle East conflict began on 28 February, with at least 22 seafarer deaths. The IMO’s published list of confirmed incidents in the Middle East reached 119 by 21 October. In August, the IMO reported that up to 400 ships with approximately 6,000 seafarers had been unable to depart the Persian Gulf safely. These figures represent individuals and families, not merely operational disruptions as some headlines try to mask. Merchant seafarers are civilian professionals carrying global trade, yet geopolitical developments are exposing them to conflict-related dangers.
Now the question is: Can we put a price on risk?
According to an ABC News Australia report published on 11 October 2026, shipping companies are offering extraordinary financial incentives to seafarers willing to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, with some tanker captains reportedly earning up to US$100,000 per month.The report also highlighted union concerns that certain crews were facing pressure to sail despite the risks.
Meanwhile, under applicable International Bargaining Forum (IBF) agreements, seafarers entering designated Warlike Operations Areas are entitled to additional protections, including a bonus equivalent to 100% of basic daily wages, subject to a five-day minimum, doubled death and disability compensation, and the right to refuse assignments with company-funded repatriation and additional compensation under specified conditions.
These measures are important, but they raise a fundamental question: Can financial compensation truly justify exposing seafarers to life-threatening situations?
And beyond compensation, are shipping companies and flag states ensuring that these seafarers possess the appropriate security qualifications, training and operational readiness to navigate such environments?
Financial incentives should never replace verified competence, adequate security preparation, transparent risk assessments or the protection of seafarers’ physical and psychological well-being.
Are flagstates and shipping companies verifying the adequate competence, certificates or actual readiness?
Having spent approximately 12 years working in crew certification with Panama’s maritime administration, I have experienced firsthand the complexity of verifying documents across flag states, issuing authorities and training institutions. A seafarer may hold competency certificates, proficiency certificates, security training records and flag-state endorsements from several sources, each with different formats and verification procedures. The STCW Convention provides an essential international baseline. But a valid certificate does not automatically prove readiness for every new threat. Have crews received vessel-specific security briefings? Do they know emergency communication procedures? Have relevant competencies been assessed for the actual operating environment? The IMO’s February 2025 HTW meeting noted more than 150 cases involving fraudulent seafarer certificates detected in 2023–2024, reinforcing the need for independent verification.
The psychological consequences we cannot ignore
The International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) reported that mental-health-related contacts to SeafarerHelp rose 35.9% in 2025 compared with the preceding year. A 2019 Yale University study of 1,572 seafarers found 25% had scores suggesting depression and 17% had scores suggesting anxiety. These statistics are not measures of conflict-related mental illness, but they demonstrate pre-existing vulnerabilities in a profession marked by fatigue, isolation and separation from family. In October 2026, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) launched its Mind At Sea campaign to encourage discussion of seafarer mental health.
Digital traceability: building a trusted maritime environment
From my experience in certification, the next stage of maritime digitalization should not simply convert paper into PDFs. A trusted environment should link each qualification to a verified identity; allow authenticity checks against authoritative issuing records; provide traceable training and assessment history; flag expiry dates and missing endorsements; and support vessel-, role- and risk-specific readiness checks. AI could help identify gaps and organize verified information, but cannot replace authorized issuing bodies, qualified assessors or accountable human decisions. Access must be secure, proportionate and respectful of seafarer privacy. The objective is not another database; it is greater confidence in the information behind safety decisions.
The responsibility to protect those who carry world trade
Maritime technology should be measured not only by efficiency but also by improvements in competence, safety and well-being. After more than a decade in crew certification, I believe compliance must move beyond asking whether a person holds the right papers. We must ask whether those papers are authentic, whether skills remain relevant, whether the risks are understood and whether responsible organizations have fulfilled their duty of care. No digital platform can eliminate geopolitical conflict, and no bonus can compensate for a lost life. Before asking how much to pay a seafarer to navigate dangerous waters, perhaps we should ask: have we done everything reasonably possible to prepare and protect them?
Sources and editorial references
IMO, Stop attacking merchant ships and seafarers (2026)
https://www.imo.org/en/mediacentre/pressbriefings/pages/stop-attacking-ships-and-seafarers-imo-secretary-general.aspx
IMO, Middle East confirmed incidents
https://www.imo.org/en/mediacentre/hottopics/pages/middle-east-highlighted-incidents.aspx
ITF, Warlike and High Risk Areas
https://www.itfseafarers.org/en/resources/itf-warlike-and-high-risk-areas
ITF, Mind At Sea campaign
https://www.itfglobal.org/en/news/mind-sea-itf-campaign-protect-seafarers-mental-health-goes-global
ISWAN, Behind the Data
https://www.iswan.org.uk/news/behind-the-data-what-seafarers-really-need-right-now/
IMO, HTW 11 meeting summary
https://www.imo.org/en/mediacentre/meetingsummaries/pages/htw-11th-session.aspx
