2023 Crew Welfare Week: Ensuring a holistic approach towards crew welfare

2023 Crew Welfare Week: Ensuring a holistic approach towards crew welfare
The Editorial Team June 20, 2023 https://safety4sea.com/2023-crew-welfare-week-key-considerations-to-ensu...

Embracing the role of the seafarers in shipping and focusing on seafarers’ wellness

he Crew Welfare Week is taking place from 20 to 22 June 2023, to discuss and embrace the role of the seafarers in shipping.

The shipping industry, the invisible industry for the public transports more than 90% of the goods with approx. 50,000 merchant ships trading internationally, transporting every kind of cargo. The world fleet is registered in over 150 nations and manned by nearly 2 million seafarers.

The worldwide population of seafarers serving on internationally trading merchant ships as per ICS/BIMCO is estimated at 1,892,720 seafarers, of which 857,540 are officers and 1,035,180 are ratings with Philippines, Russian Federation, Indonesia, China and India being the largest suppliers of seafarers on the oceangoing merchant ships.

The event is organized by SAFETY4SEA having MacGregor and SQE MARINE as lead sponsors. Other event sponsors are: The American Club, Arcadia Shipmanagement Co. Ltd., Blue Planet Shipping Ltd., Capital-Executive Ship Management Corp., Capital Gas Ship Management Corp., Capital Ship Management Corp., Columbia Ship Management, Diaplous Group, DNV, Dorian LPG, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Limited (EASTMED), EURONAV, Green-Jakobsen A/S, I.M.E.Q. Center, Latsco Shipping Limited, NorthStandard, OSM Thome, RISK4SEA, SEAFiT, Steamship Mutual, UK P&I Club, V.Group, VIKAND, WellAtSea.

The event is being supported by the following organizations: Australian Mariners Welfare Society (AMWS), HELMEPA, InterManager, ISWAN, Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), The Mission to Seafarers, WISTA Hellas.

Opening the event, Apo Belokas, Managing Editor, SAFETY4SEA, explained that for a third year, this unique industry initiative aims to bring together many of the stakeholders to discuss how to join forces and improve living and working conditions onboard.

Partnerships is the key priority for shipping for the time being as collaboration is the new fuel. In this respect, it is extremely important for all industry stakeholders to collaborate and support crew welfare with more initiatives, more projects and more tools.…Apo Belokas said.

The event started with a key video message from Kitack Lim, Secretary-General, IMO, who reminded that once again this time of the year we celebrate the International Day of Seafarer on June 25th, to honor their contribution to the safety of ships and protection of the marine environment. Kitack Lim highlighted that every day seafarers are requested to implement rules on garbage, sewage and air pollution strategy. On the occasion of MARPOL’s 50-year anniversary and as shipping industry accelerates its support of the global efforts to combat climate change, IMO has chosen to focus this special day on how seafarers protect the marine environment, our ocean and planet. ‘

Seafarers are key to ensuring a just transition to a zero-carbon future…Kitack Lim said.
Day 01 - Tuesday June 20
Day 02 - Wednesday June 21
Day 03 - Thursday June 22