seafarers

In the worst case of serial seafarer abandonment ever seen, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) condemns Middle East Marine LLC for its systematic abuse and neglect of over 100 seafarers.  

Today, the ITF is calling on the United Arab Emirates Government and the Palau maritime authorities to act to end seafarers’ suffering and uphold international maritime and human rights law. 

• Employers (IMEC), shipowners (ICS) and unions (ITF) unite to bring a seafarer summit in Manila on 26 June 2023 following the Day of the Seafarer. 
• The summit aims to highlight the elements required for a successful transformation of seafarers’ roles to meet the needs of shipping in the future. 
• The Philippines continue to show leadership in matters relating to seafarers as host country to one of the most relevant summits this year, focusing on the requirements for seafarers in 2050. 

01 June 2023, London: The International Chamber of Sh

Registrations have opened today for the ITF Seafarers’ Expo, to be held in the heart of the Philippines – Manila – later this month.

This is only the second time the major maritime event is being held in the ITF’s long history of being the voice of the world’s seafarers.

31 May 2023, London – Seafarers see the prospect of autonomous ships as an opportunity to solve a number of problems in commercial shipping but warn that crew expertise is central to decision-making in a time of technological change, and to make change effective companies and governments need to ensure the technology is transparent and reliable.

The government of the United Kingdom has failed to prepare adequately for its own changes to visa rules, and now underpaid migrant fishers will be forced to pay the price for the government’s delays and incompetence.

Manila, Philippines (16 May 2023): The steady progress by key seafarer home nations in Asia, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, to equip their maritime workers with the skill sets needed to deliver a low and zero-carbon maritime sector, will be showcased at the ‘Seizing opportunities for green shipping in Asia and the Pacific’ conference organized by the Philippines' Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA).

To take advantage of the social and economic benefits of shipping’s green transition, African maritime leaders are being encouraged to implement infrastructure to train and upskill seafarers.

Unions are welcoming a decision from the EU maritime watchdog which avoids up to 50,000 Philippines-certified crew being barred from working aboard European-owned ships.

28 March 2023, Copenhagen

Trade unions representing employees of the world’s largest listed shipping company are in Copenhagen today to take their labour message direct to Maersk headquarters as the company records a record $29 billion profit.

Thirteen Filipino seafarers have made it home after more than five months aboard an abandoned livestock carrier ship, the Yangtze Harmony, thanks to the intervention of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).  

The ship’s owners abandoned the vessel and its crew after the ship was arrested in October 2022 in Singapore over an unpaid fuel bill. That is when the shipowner also stopped paying the entire crew, leaving them without wages or a way to get home. By April, the crew were owed a massive USD $429,972.