Exploring The Experiences of Indian Merchant Navy Cadets Who Dropped Out After Their First Year at Sea: A Qualitative Enquiry

Background: Various researches have been carried out in the past and it is now an established fact that Merchant Navy seafarers indeed experience stress and fatigue due to the unique demands of the profession which takes a toll in their mental and physical health. However, there is a dearth of literature available with regard to Indian seafarers- particularly the Merchant Navy cadets. Since cadets are the most vulnerable and many even drop out after their first experience at sea, this study aims to investigate and understand the experiences of a few drop-out Indian seafarer cadets, through their own voices.Materials and Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 drop-out Indian seafarer cadets from March 2024 to June 2024. This study has a qualitative and reflexive orientation. The narratives focused on their experiences at sea and what compelled them to drop out. These narratives were analysed with the help of a six-step thematic content analysis approach.Results: 5 important themes were found. However, there were many subthemes which were inter –related but mutually exclusive. The main themes are: loneliness and isolation, physical and work environment, lack of support, other employment opportunities and a sense of ambivalence.Conclusion: All cadets displayed initial distress and adjustment issues which triggered them to resign and change profession. Therefore, this highlights the gap in the training process and the actual experience at sea. Thus, future studies can aim to investigate methods to rally the training process so that protective factors and strengths like resilience, emotion regulation etc. can be inculcated amongst the seafarers right from their training days.