Steven Jones, founder of the Seafarers Happiness Index, seeks solutions to the latest shocking data about life at sea. The recent announcement that the Poseidon Principles are set to expand their remit has been greeted with cautious optimism. There will likely have been many nodding to the concept of banks looking beyond carbon concerns to the corporeal, and finally factoring seafarers into funding decisions. The very concept of leveraging loans and finance to drive standards makes perfect sense. There is temptation to ponder why it has taken so long, but better late than never and all that. There is much to applaud as shipping seeks to circle its own square on the ways it deals with those at sea. Well, that was until the new Diversity@Sea report set out so many dreadful experiences for seafarers. This has brought astonishing data into play and shone a spotlight squarely on the raw and occasionally brutal facts as experienced onboard. The initiative within the Global Maritime Forum has given a vitally important opportunity for us all to hear from those who are bullied, scared, isolated, lonely, humiliated and suffering myriad indignities beside. The scale of the problem at sea is so vast it is hard to process As their stories emerge, suddenly even Poseidon himself may not be strong enough to stem the tide as the data appears so bad. Figures from Nautilus International state that as many as 42% of maritime workers have encountered bullying, harassment, or discrimination at sea. While the staggering statistic from Safer Waves claims 58% of their respondents have experienced sexual misconduct at sea. Across all data points the report estimates that between 8% and 25% of all seafarer’s experience harassment and bullying. It is hard to even find the words, but while we dig for answers, we cannot collectively bury our heads. Instead of Poseidon, what we have opened is a Pandora’s Box with a Casandra inside speaking the truths that should absolutely not be ignored. So these figures must serve as the tipping point for change. This can be the human experience equivalent to the climate’s 1.5 degrees. Now is the time for action. How though? It is said you should never ask questions you don’t want the answer to. But what about asking the questions you don’t even know how to answer? Having found out the scale of the problem what do we do with it? The voices of the suffering seafarers are telling us loud and clear what is going on, but the scale of the problem is so vast it is hard to process. Which means we have to assume that this is happening everywhere, on every ship, within every company, sat alongside in every port. The only way to deal with the dreadful truth that so many seafarers are facing these terrible things is to accept that things have to change. We need to rally around the cause, as we have done others in the past. If this were pirates or terrorists endangering or injuring seafarers, then we would have a clear course. When it is our own hurting our own, then it becomes harder still. We should have a united voice decrying the conditions which allow such negatives to fester. Which means the lobbyists, apologists, and the voices which provide soothing somnolence to insurers, to financiers and charterers, need to find the moral courage to accept the physical and mental health emergency, and push for progress. There are good shipping companies, there are maritime leaders who care, and even long game investors who do believe in ESG over me,