Embedded within a mobility justice framing, this research recognises that:
a) There are systems and structures that are placing seafarers within unjust mobility regimes exposing them to unequal spatial conditions, often leaving them with a lack of choice in decision making
b) All seafarers are dignified agents, who are resilient and able to negotiate strategies even in disempowering situations
c) Relational and cultural aspects must be considered when exploring strategies and articulations of seafarers’ agency
Ensembled Agency
With this in mind, our project, which looks at the COVID-19 pandemic and the global humanitarian crew ship crisis, explores how most seafarers come from cultural backgrounds that allow what could be labelled as ensembled agency. This is a term that reflects the collective resilience and decision-making strategies that seafarers employ.
While these essential workers are bound and confronted by strict workplace hierarchies and challenges unique to ship environments, they draw on personal, cultural, and community-based strengths. We are interested in understanding how ensembled agency may have had a role for seafarers in handling the strandedness involved with the crew change crisis.
Ensembled agency acknowledges that the resilience of seafarers stems from both individual and group dynamics – rooted in cultural backgrounds and supported by the team structures aboard ships.
Navigating Seafarer Mobilities 