June 25, has been designated “Day of the Seafarer' to recognise the vital contribution to world trade, industrial growth made by seafarers
IMO believes that on the Day of the Seafarer, the hugely positive work of seafarers on the daily lives of ordinary people ought to be publicly recognised. They are suggesting that besides just thinking about this maritime workforce, everyone ought to choose one object that came by sea, and without which they just could not live.
Seafarers operate upwards of 50,000 ships in oceans, seas and coastal waters and on June 25, which has been designated “Day of the Seafarer”, there is an annual opportunity to thank them all.
There are one and a quarter million of them, but most people don’t know they are there, as they mostly work, quite literally, over the horizon. The jobs they do are absolutely vital and without them, world trade, industrial growth and progress would screech to a halt. In many parts of the world, without them, whole populations would freeze in the dark without fuel, and even starve, because they had run short of food.
Seafaring has always been a challenging job, working in a hostile environment, and even in an era of satellite navigation and big, sophisticated ships, traditional dangers are still to be encountered. But we take for granted that the ships will arrive, bringing their cargoes of every description, from all around the world in a reliable, dependable conduit of world trade.
More information on how to participate is here.