A group of US organisations is launching the first-ever research study about the effects of piracy on seafarers.
The initiative is being carried out by the Seamen's Church Institute in association with New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. It is supported by the International Maritime Organization.
Douglas Stevenson, director of the centre for seafarers' rights at the Seamen's Church, said the study would focus on three areas. These involve seafarers who have been held hostage, those who have been on board ships that have come under attack and those who have been on board ships transiting the Gulf of Aden.
Mr Stevenson said: "Up to now, there has been no discussion about the impact on seafarers. Are they traumatised? Are they fit for work? There is no centralised data about how seafarers have been affected by piracy, or where they can go for help."
He told Lloyd's List that the church was seeking financial assistance to carry out the research, estimated to cost around $100,000 a year over five years.
Mr Stevenson said the International Shipping Federation and the International Transport Workers' Federation were enthusiastic and supportive about the research initiative.
As part of the research project, psychologists will interview seafarers who have been held hostage and those who have been attacked.
Mr Stevenson said that initially, seafarers would be interviewed about piracy in general, in order to get a baseline result.
Interviews will be carried out via skype and other interactive communications.
While he acknowledged that it was up to seafarers whether they wished to discuss their experiences, Mr Stevenson said he hoped that shipowners and shipmanagers would assist in helping the church to gain access to the seafarers.
The church has already developed a four-page document setting out preliminary guidelines for the post-piracy care for seafarers.
The programme seeks to identify the unique stress caused by piracy hostage incidents, along with immediate and ongoing medical evaluation strategies for crew members and their families.
It would aim to recommend plans for clinically assessing seafarers after piracy incidents and assisting families during prolonged piracy episodes.
Mr Stevenson said the confidentiality of the seafarers would be strictly maintained.
He said it was too early to suggest what issues could be raised by the research. But he indicated that while hostages' families worried about the treatment of their loved ones, kidnapped seafarers worried more about the impact of the incident on their families, rather than their own welfare.