Four years ago International Maritime Organization (IMO) started to celebrate the annual Day of the Seafarer on 25th of June.
The intention was to internationally celebrate this day in as many seafarer centers’ and in as many ports as possible. The main objective of the Day of the Seafarer is to draw attention to the hidden contribution that seafarers make to the world supply chain and the global economy. The plan is to spread this message to as wide an audience as possible and also to show how appreciated all seafarers are for their amazing contribution in our day to day lives.
The Day of The Seafarer is now being celebrated for the 4th time, the event increasing in importance and relevance on each occasion. This is reflected in the growing number of people from the maritime sector and beyond, which want to take part in the campaign and publicly thank seafarers for their service and the sacrifices they make.
For shipping companies, seafarers represent the soul of their business and therefore a critical asset. People within the maritime sector are familiar with the role of the seafarer. However, even they may not be totally aware of the efforts that seafarers are making, along with the physical and psychological challenges that they face on board the vessels. It is our responsibility, as those who are working within this sector and close to the seafaring community, to lead the efforts to highlight seafarers’ importance and to thank them for what they do.
According to IMO’s statistics, ships transport almost 90 percent of the world’s goods trade, a large diversity and scale of products which are used in everyday life. Therefore we have a 90% reason to be grateful and to recognize the importance of the people who deliver them: more than 1.5 million seafarers.
This year’s theme, “Seafarer brought me…” invites you to complete the sentence with any word suitable for you, from food or gifts to joy or even a better life, aiming to offer seafarers the thanks, recognition and appreciation that they truly deserve!
