Mariner suicides and attempts rose during crew change crisis, advocate says

Numbers can be hard to come by, but suicide attempts by crew members rose during the crew change crisis, a seafarer advocate said.

Philip Schifflin, the director of the Center for Mariner Advocacy at the Seamen's Church Institute, said crews were often working long beyond their contracts causing undue stress.

Schifflin spoke at the Connecticut Maritime Association's annual conference in Stamford on Friday.