Development and Research Directions in Seafarers’ Welfare and Rights: A Bibliometric Analysis Between 1920 and 2023

Seafarers make a critical contribution to civil society; however, they are exposed to various occupational health hazards on board ships and have historically not been granted fundamental rights. For over one century, since the first international instrument – the National Seamen’s Code Recommendati...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hanh-Thi Hong Hoang, Le-Thanh Nguyen, Sung-Ho Park, Jong-Kwan Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-04-01
Series:Journal of International Maritime Safety, Environmental Affairs, and Shipping
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25725084.2025.2504315
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1839636065004027904
author Hanh-Thi Hong Hoang
Le-Thanh Nguyen
Sung-Ho Park
Jong-Kwan Kim
author_facet Hanh-Thi Hong Hoang
Le-Thanh Nguyen
Sung-Ho Park
Jong-Kwan Kim
author_sort Hanh-Thi Hong Hoang
collection DOAJ
description Seafarers make a critical contribution to civil society; however, they are exposed to various occupational health hazards on board ships and have historically not been granted fundamental rights. For over one century, since the first international instrument – the National Seamen’s Code Recommendation – was adopted in 1920, global seafarers have been fighting for their rights and welfare. The International Labour Organization adopted the Maritime Labour Convention as a “Bill of Rights” for seafarers in 2006, and then this instrument entered into force in 2013. After more than 10 years of implementation, it is necessary to thoroughly review the process and achievements that the maritime industry has been performing to protect seafarers’ rights and ensure their welfare. This study employed bibliometric and content analysis methods to offer a comprehensive and succinct description of the progress in academic research on seafarers’ welfare and rights from 1920 to 2023 in the Scopus database. It identified the topics, envisaged the current challenges of seafarers, and suggested imperative measures and research directions in the future. To enhance the rights and welfare of seafarers, leading suggestions from this study include (i) regulatory improvements and effective enforcement of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, (ii) improving occupational health and safety; mental health and wellbeing of seafarers, (iii) training their knowledge and skills to cope with challenges, and (iv) developing women seafarers’ prospects.
format Article
id doaj-art-f529b80492204f9d8897c0b0099e30e3
institution Matheson Library
issn 2572-5084
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Journal of International Maritime Safety, Environmental Affairs, and Shipping
spelling doaj-art-f529b80492204f9d8897c0b0099e30e32025-07-08T09:21:29ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of International Maritime Safety, Environmental Affairs, and Shipping2572-50842025-04-019210.1080/25725084.2025.2504315Development and Research Directions in Seafarers’ Welfare and Rights: A Bibliometric Analysis Between 1920 and 2023Hanh-Thi Hong Hoang0Le-Thanh Nguyen1Sung-Ho Park2Jong-Kwan Kim3Division of Navigation Convergence Science, College of Maritime Sciences, Korea Maritime & Ocean University, Busan, Republic of KoreaMaritime Law Department - Navigation Faculty, Vietnam Maritime UniversityDivision of Navigation Convergence Science, Korea Maritime & Ocean UniversityDivision of Navigation Convergence Science, Korea Maritime & Ocean UniversitySeafarers make a critical contribution to civil society; however, they are exposed to various occupational health hazards on board ships and have historically not been granted fundamental rights. For over one century, since the first international instrument – the National Seamen’s Code Recommendation – was adopted in 1920, global seafarers have been fighting for their rights and welfare. The International Labour Organization adopted the Maritime Labour Convention as a “Bill of Rights” for seafarers in 2006, and then this instrument entered into force in 2013. After more than 10 years of implementation, it is necessary to thoroughly review the process and achievements that the maritime industry has been performing to protect seafarers’ rights and ensure their welfare. This study employed bibliometric and content analysis methods to offer a comprehensive and succinct description of the progress in academic research on seafarers’ welfare and rights from 1920 to 2023 in the Scopus database. It identified the topics, envisaged the current challenges of seafarers, and suggested imperative measures and research directions in the future. To enhance the rights and welfare of seafarers, leading suggestions from this study include (i) regulatory improvements and effective enforcement of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, (ii) improving occupational health and safety; mental health and wellbeing of seafarers, (iii) training their knowledge and skills to cope with challenges, and (iv) developing women seafarers’ prospects.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25725084.2025.2504315Maritime labour conventionMLC 2006seafarer(s)welfareseafarers right(s)bibliometric
spellingShingle Hanh-Thi Hong Hoang
Le-Thanh Nguyen
Sung-Ho Park
Jong-Kwan Kim
Development and Research Directions in Seafarers’ Welfare and Rights: A Bibliometric Analysis Between 1920 and 2023
Journal of International Maritime Safety, Environmental Affairs, and Shipping
Maritime labour convention
MLC 2006
seafarer(s)
welfare
seafarers right(s)
bibliometric
title Development and Research Directions in Seafarers’ Welfare and Rights: A Bibliometric Analysis Between 1920 and 2023
title_full Development and Research Directions in Seafarers’ Welfare and Rights: A Bibliometric Analysis Between 1920 and 2023
title_fullStr Development and Research Directions in Seafarers’ Welfare and Rights: A Bibliometric Analysis Between 1920 and 2023
title_full_unstemmed Development and Research Directions in Seafarers’ Welfare and Rights: A Bibliometric Analysis Between 1920 and 2023
title_short Development and Research Directions in Seafarers’ Welfare and Rights: A Bibliometric Analysis Between 1920 and 2023
title_sort development and research directions in seafarers welfare and rights a bibliometric analysis between 1920 and 2023
topic Maritime labour convention
MLC 2006
seafarer(s)
welfare
seafarers right(s)
bibliometric
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25725084.2025.2504315
work_keys_str_mv AT hanhthihonghoang developmentandresearchdirectionsinseafarerswelfareandrightsabibliometricanalysisbetween1920and2023
AT lethanhnguyen developmentandresearchdirectionsinseafarerswelfareandrightsabibliometricanalysisbetween1920and2023
AT sunghopark developmentandresearchdirectionsinseafarerswelfareandrightsabibliometricanalysisbetween1920and2023
AT jongkwankim developmentandresearchdirectionsinseafarerswelfareandrightsabibliometricanalysisbetween1920and2023