09 May Seafarer Human Sustainability Declaration
Simwave and key maritime stakeholders have launched the Seafarers’ Human Sustainability Declaration. The Declaration aims to recognize and improve how the global maritime community meets the human sustainability needs of seafarers both today and into the future.
To achieve long-term sustainability for commercial maritime business, our industry must invest in the sustainability of its most critical resource: seafarers themselves. This Seafarer Human Sustainability Declaration, therefore, encompasses a broad set of principles designed to incrementally improve every category of life for both seafarers and their loved ones at home.
We believe that incremental improvements to all areas of human sustainability can have a profound impact on the long-term health of our maritime workforce. Let us ensure the sustained commercial viability of our industry by uniting around continuous advancement.
This declaration builds upon decades of progress and precedent, including procedures codified in 1993 by the International Safety Management Code, which have been vital to ensuring safety for seafarers. Likewise, the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 established a broad set of minimum requirements for seafarers’ working conditions that we still use today.
However, we believe it’s time to do more. This declaration aligns with many objectives set forth in the UN Sustainable Development Goals – a global policy initiative that includes provisions for good health and wellbeing, gender equality, and decent work and economic growth. We believe that a similar framework can help our industry thrive and sustain itself.
By adopting the following Articles, the global maritime community pledges its commitment to making incremental improvements in diversity, equity, inclusion, and a culture of care for seafarers and their families at home. Uniting maritime sectors in the principles of wellbeing, this Declaration aims to protect our industry’s most important asset, today and for the future.
Article I
Human seafarers and their families at home deserve peace of mind, security and wellbeing, which can only be achieved across all sectors of the global maritime industry by developing and adopting systems and policies that support Seafarer Human Sustainability.
Article II
The concept of Seafarer Human Sustainability should be a significant consideration across all aspects of maritime governance and all facets of seafarer life – onboard, ashore and at home.
Article III
Seafarer Human Sustainability includes programs and systems that support wellbeing at sea, including education, nutrition, healthcare, insurance, mental health support, environmental safety, economic security, access to global electronic payment systems, freedom from abuse and harassment, as well as safe options to address and remedy concerns.
Article IV
Due to the unique nature of seafarer work, the concept of Human Sustainability must extend to those they leave behind at home. Seafaring families also deserve peace of mind and security through economic safety nets, insurance, access to healthcare, and other measures that help keep families secure while loved ones work at sea for extended periods of time.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY Declared that a united maritime industry is one that values and endorses sustainability of all who make its operations possible, both onboard and ashore.