Seafarers' rights to be treated fairly and enjoy quality of life at sea is the focus this year's Day of the Seafarer campaign, under the theme: Seafarer's wellbeing. "Day of the Seafarer 2018 (25 June) will provide a platform to advocate for higher standards of welfare and enable shipping companies and others within the industry to show how they provide a good working environment for seafarers and thereby make a positive contribution to their wellbeing," said IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim.
This year the campaign includes a short survey aimed at collecting seafarers' feedback on whether they know their rights at sea and whether those rights are being implemented into their operational reality. The collected data will be fed back to IMO Member States creating a direct line of communication between seafarers and governments. So if you are a seafarer, take the survey! And show your support online: #SupportSeafarersWellbeing
IMO has also launched a photo competition, targeted at seafarers, to show the world what a #GoodDayAtSea looks like. We invite all interested seafarers to participate and submit photos here. The competition is being run by IMO together with the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN). The judging panel will select the entries they feel best capture the spirit of the 2018 Day of the Seafarer campaign and the inspirational role that seafarers play in everyone's every day lives.
For more information on this year's campaign visit the Day of the Seafarer webpage