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August 2025
Dear Supporter,
Welcome to the August edition of Seapost, The Seafarers' Charity's e-newsletter. We’re so grateful for your continued support and we’ve packed this edition with exciting updates and ways you can make a real difference. We hope you enjoy reading it!
Best wishes,
Luca Selvaggio
Editor
Celebrating Merchant Navy Day 2025
On Wednesday, 3 September, Merchant Navy Day, communities across the UK are invited to celebrate the vital contribution of our Merchant Navy by flying the Red Ensign. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of The Seafarers’ Charity’s Fly the Red Ensign campaign, which has grown from raising awareness of seafarers’ contributions into a national celebration of these everyday heroes.
The Red Ensign, affectionately known as the Red Duster, is now flown at historic landmarks, government buildings, parish and town councils, and village greens across the country. Merchant Navy seafarers have kept supply lines open during global conflicts, including both world wars, and crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, they remain essential to the UK economy, carrying over 95% of traded goods.
To mark this special anniversary year, we are inviting everyone to show their support. Whether by flying the Red Ensign physically or digitally, or by wearing something red and sharing your photos on social media with #MerchantNavyDay, you can help raise awareness of the seafarers who keep our nation moving.
A free Social Media Toolkit is available to help you get involved, featuring infographics, ready-to-use graphics, a message from our President HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and virtual backgrounds for online meetings.
Big Give Challenge – Pledge Period Extended: Let’s Cross the Finish Line Together!
We’re excited to share that the pledge deadline for our Wellbeing at Sea campaign has been extended to 11:00pm on Sunday 7 September. This gives us extra time to secure pledges and move closer to our fundraising goal of £17,500.
By making a pledge of £100–£1,000 before 7 September, you’ll help us unlock matched funding from Champion Funders, doubling the impact of every donation made during the campaign. Pledges are only collected after the campaign and only if the match target is reached, meaning your commitment helps motivate others to give.
If you’ve been meaning to pledge, now is the perfect time. Every pledge will help fund vital services for seafarers and their families, ensuring we finish the campaign strong.
Join us for the Launch of the Maritime Charities Group MCG Demographics Research 2025
We would like to invite you to the in-person launch of MCG’s major new study on UK seafarer demographics, taking place at Trinity House on Monday 8 September 2025.
This is a unique opportunity to hear directly from the lead researcher and other industry experts about the findings of this important study. The session will explore key projected changes in the demographics of the UK seafaring community, the needs of seafarers and their dependants across all sectors of the maritime industry, and how maritime welfare charities can prepare and adapt for the future.
Spaces are limited, so please register now to secure your place and gain first-hand insights into the challenges and opportunities facing seafarers today.
Nautical Institute and The Seafarers’ Charity Expand Training for Seafarers
We’re pleased to extend our partnership with The Nautical Institute, offering fully funded scholarships on two of their Academy courses. The training helps seafarers improve leadership, team dynamics, and mental health awareness, creating safer and more supportive working environments.
Delivered online across multiple time zones, the courses are accessible to seafarers worldwide. Last year, 68 participants from emerging economies completed the training.
Whether developing skills in Leadership and Management in Maritime Operations or Seafarer Mental Health and Crew Well-being, participants gain practical, scenario-based learning relevant to life at sea.
Annual National Service for Seafarers 2025
The Annual National Service for Seafarers (ANSS) will take place on Wednesday 8 October 2025 at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, organised by Trinity House and The Seafarers’ Charity. The service recognises and gives thanks for the vital work of seafarers from all sectors, including the Merchant and Royal Navies, fishing fleets, cruise liners, ferries, and commercial ships.
This year also marks the 120th anniversary of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), which supports the Royal Navy in operations worldwide. The ANSS offers a meaningful opportunity to honour seafarers past and present, and to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives at sea.
Attendance is free and open to all, including seafarers, supporters, and maritime organisations. Register to attend and join us in this solemn celebration of seafarers’ contributions. For inquiries, contact anss@theseafarerscharity.org.
The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) is an international non-profit dedicated to embedding respect for human rights in business practices. With support from The Seafarers’ Charity and partners, IHRB is taking action to end the illegal practice of seafarers being charged recruitment fees.
Thanks to our grant, IHRB is delivering workshops in seafarer origin regions such as Tamil Nadu, India, raising awareness of seafarers’ rights, highlighting the dangers of debt, and connecting workers with grievance mechanisms. They are working with ship owners, operators, and governments to embed “no recruitment fee” clauses in contracts and strengthen industry standards.
This multi-pronged approach helps protect seafarers from falling into debt and exploitation, while promoting fairer recruitment practices globally. By combining grassroots empowerment, industry reform, and advocacy, IHRB is actively contributing to a future where no seafarer has to pay to work at sea.
Sea Views: Exploring Mental Health Challenges in the Superyacht Sector
The 19th episode of Sea Views, "Behind the Sparkle: Mental Health at Sea in the Superyacht Sector," is now available. It features Captain Brendan O'Shannassy and Laura Beard from the International Seafarers’ Welfare & Assistance Network (ISWAN), exploring the hidden challenges of working in the superyacht industry and why crew welfare must be taken seriously at every level.
The episode examines the pressures behind the scenes in the luxury yachting sector and explains why many crew members do not identify as seafarers, leaving them without access to vital support. It highlights real issues reported to YachtCrewHelp, including fatigue, conflict, isolation, and grief, emphasising that psychological safety is not only a wellbeing concern but a critical safety issue.
Sea Views is supported by CHIRP Maritime and funded by The Seafarers’ Charity.
Do You Know a Seafarer Who Needs Relationship Support?
Working away at sea can put pressure on relationships and wellbeing. We know that seafarers are not often good at asking for help. And sometimes those around us need targeted support to navigate personal choppy seas.
The Seafarers’ Charity has stepped in to partner with Relate with a grant of £34,100 to provide confidential counselling sessions for seafarers and their families, delivered online by a qualified Relate Counsellor.
The funded counselling solutions on offer are open to members of the Merchant Navy and/or fishers and their families.
Feedback from participants shows that over 88% report an improvement after counselling, and 94% would recommend the service. Help those in need of relationship support by informing them of the free counselling sessions.
