Today is the International Day of the Seafarer and on behalf of everyone at the UK Chamber of Shipping, I want to thank all seafarers for the extraordinary work you do. Over the last 18 months you have been working in the toughest of conditions. But you have continued to supply the UK, and the rest of the world, with vital medicines, goods, and food we all need. You are the unsung heroes of global trade, and it is right that today the world should celebrate your hard work and dedication. Once again, I want to thank you all for your incredible work and we hope you can see for yourselves the amount of support there is across the world for the work you do every day.

To mark the International Day of The Seafarer, today Ince have released their global choir’s single ‘Sailing’, raising money for the Maritime charities: The Mission to Seafarers, Sailors'​ Society, Stella Maris Org and The Seafarers’ Charity. To help raise vital funds for seafarers, click here to download the single and donate: here

This week saw the publication of the Maritime Skills Commission report. As we look to the future it is vital we have the best and the brightest talent but it is also imperative we provide them with the right skills. To maintain our position as a world leading shipping and maritime nation we must continually asses our capabilities and look to make improvements.

I welcome this report from the MSC and its recommendations for how we can continue boost skills across our sector. Everyone at the Chamber looks forward to working with the government and the MSC to ensure we have the most talented individuals with the very best skills.

Earlier this week was the Travel Day of Action where we called for the Government to support industry and the safe restart of international travel. Find out more here.  

Also, this week we saw the announcement of the latest recipients of the Merchant Navy Medal Award. Congratulations to all the well-deserving recipients for their meritorious service and actions. On Monday we will be highlighting some of the recipients closest to the Chamber for their service.

Bob