There are estimated to be more than 1.6 million seafarers serving on international merchant ships, most of whom come from the Philippines, China and Indonesia.* The merchant fleet is expected to grow continuously in the next decade, which means more people will be needed to be recruited. Kitck Lim, IMO Secretary-General stated “Without seafarers, there would be no shipping”, which highlights the importance of our seafarers.

PISR salutes and is honoured to recognise all the seafarers on not just this day but every day in the year.

History of the day

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) through it Conference of Parties to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) ratified a resolution establishing the Seafarer’s Day.

The first official Day of the Seafarers was observed on 25June 2011.

Theme of this year

The theme is “Your voyage – then and now, share your journey”. The campaign examines the journeys of seafarers, what they entail, how they have changed over time and what has remained at the core of seafarers’ lives.

In recent years, campaigns have primarily focused on social media during the global pandemic, and IMO has introduced a social media hashtag, #DayOfTheSeafare.Practitioners to be use in share photos taken at sea.

This year, IMO is asking seafarers to post two photos related to their first and latest voyages and tell what has changed. Is shipping greener? Is the technology better? Are you more skilled? What have you learnt?

Keep an eye on the two hashtages  #SeafarerJourney and #DayOfTheSeafare on social media and share your thoughts with the industry.

Kitck Lim, IMO Secretary-General sharing in this video about the day.

#SeafarerJourney #DayOfTheSeafare #IMO

* Information from ICS