“It is easy for seafarers to feel lonely and isolated. To imagine that they do not matter. This year, we want to show [everyone] that seafarers do matter,” say IMO Secretary General, Kitack Lim marking the International Day of the Seafarer 2017.
In addition to personal issues, conditions onboard ships and in ports, unpaid wages, and even abandonment, mariners have to contend with long periods away from family and friends and the pressure to perform in a challenging economic environment, which multiply the anguish.
Kitack Lim called upon the wider maritime industry to show seafarers that they do truly matter. In particular, he praised the role of seafarer’s centres at port cities, where sailors and crew of ships visit for a “small taste of home” – a sanctuary where they can rest, recuperate, connect with loved ones back home, especially through social media, and if necessary avail of support to help them adjust and cope.
The message for the Day of the Seafarer was delivered by the IMO Chief at the Duckdalben Seafarer’s Centre in Hamburg, Germany.
