Emergency Relief Fund for Seafarers Established

1 Million U.S. dollars. That’s the target of Seafarers International Relief Fund.

 

It will be allocated to seafarers who have been badly affected by Covid-19. Leading international seafarer welfare organisations such as The Seafarers’ Charity (formerly Seafarers UK) supported by The Mission to Seafarers, ISWAN, Sailors’ Society are among those working together to raise the money.

“We have all been shocked by the images and stories coming from India, and our hearts go out to the people of India and those from India working around the world who are suffering from the impact of this pandemic. It often takes a crisis to bring people together and this is no different,” said Esben Poulsson, Chair of the International Chamber of Shipping.

Catherine Spencer, Chief Executive of The Seafarers’ Charity meanwhile said, “By joining forces to form the Seafarers International Relief Fund, our aim is to send a clear message about the urgency of the crisis faced by seafarers globally; pooling our resources to ensure that support can be delivered as quickly as possible.”

A number of major shipping organizations have already pledged their support to the fund, including Anglo-Eastern, Ardmore Shipping, Cargill, Hafnia, IRI (Marshall Islands Flag), MSC, Pacific Basin and V.Group.

The Fund will be used to deliver aid through existing welfare programmes run by welfare partners in India, to make sure that support reaches seafarers and their families as quickly as possible. Although the immediate focus of the campaign is India, other countries also remain highly vulnerable to the pandemic, including those with large numbers of international seafarers.

The goal of the SIRF is to stand ready to support seafarers and their families afflicted by the pandemic in other countries, should the need arise.