Support activities offered by ports and seafarer centres for those who work aboard ship will be the focus of this year’s Day of the Seafarer (DotS) taking place on Sunday 25 June.
Day of the Seafarer was established by the IMO at the same time as the revised STCW Convention with its focus on seafarer welfare in 2010.
This year the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is encouraging ports and seafarer centres to hold events and take actions “to demonstrate how much seafarers matter to them.” The idea is to “share and showcase best practices in seafarer support and welfare,” it added.
Seafarer centres act as “a sanctuary” for those working at sea, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said, pointing out that “it is a difficult and demanding job with long periods away from family and friends, and seafarers can feel isolated and lonely.”
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