Background
The global maritime industry depends on a workforce of nearly two million seafarers, whose professionalism and dedication ensure safe and seamless international trade. Sustaining this workforce, through safe, fair, inclusive and attractive conditions, is essential to shipping’s operational effectiveness and long-term resiliency. Particularly as the industry transitions towards using new fuels and increased automation and digitalisation.
Across the industry there is growing attention on the importance on seafarer welfare, mental health, safety and working conditions. Enhanced connectivity, access to shore leave and enhance legal protections are all seen as relevant to retaining talent and strengthening the appeal of seafaring as a profession.
Seafarer wellbeing is an element of maritime safety and performance with studies highlighting psychosocial risks such as fatigue and isolation as areas needing to be addressed. Industry and regulatory efforts are increasingly focussed on human-centred ship design, ergonomic improvements, operational procedures and inclusive environments that support a diverse workforce.
Progress is also being made at the global level. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is actively advancing initiatives that support diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion (DEEI), and promote future-ready skills. Revised education and training strategies, including the STCW Convention review, aim to integrate soft skills and digital learning into global standards seeking to address concerns over training quality and consistency, especially in major labour-supplying countries. And recent amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) formally recognise seafarers as key workers and reinforce rights to shore leave, medical care, and protection from harassment and discrimination.
Alongside the many positive developments unfair treatment of seafarers remains a concern. This unfair treatment can take many forms and be for many reasons. Incidents may relate to eg pollution from ships or smuggling of drugs, even though very few of these incidents involve intentional or grossly negligent behaviour of seafarers. Other examples of incidents of unfair treatment include the occasional improper attitude of port state control officials towards ship's crew as well as unjust abandonment of seafarers. Unfair treatment has an unacceptable impact on the seafarers involved. It also has a damaging effect on the image of the shipping industry and its ability to attract and retain qualified seafarers.
BIMCO’s Position Statement
BIMCO is committed to advancing collaborative and practical solutions that assist in ensuring seafaring remains a safe, sustainable, and aspirational career in the decades ahead and enabling the workforce to thrive in an evolving global industry, ultimately leading to enhanced operational safety and efficiency.
Our focus is on areas where we can have an impact on regulatory development, align industry practices, and provide practical guidance for shipowners and operators. In particular:
- BIMCO supports and advocates for fair treatment of seafarers in all respects and is committed to raising awareness across the industry and regulatory bodies
- BIMCO is opposed to liability regimes that presume guilt rather than innocence, and to legislation that criminalises actions retroactively. We call for wide adoption and enforcement of the MLC including the 2025 MLC amendments and the ILO/IMO Guidelines on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers
- BIMCO calls for global recognition of seafarers as essential workers1 to ensure freedom of movement, access to medical care and smooth facilitation of crew changes
- BIMCO encourages adoption of standards and practices that promote safe, healthy, and respectful conditions for seafarers. This includes measures to prevent violence and harassment, support mental health, uphold rest hour compliance, and provide adequate nutrition, connectivity, and recreation. Recognising the link between welfare and safety, BIMCO also supports procedures that foster transparency and continuous improvement, including voluntary indicators and confidential reporting mechanisms that enable crew to raise concerns without fear of reprisal
- BIMCO promotes the development of strong onboard safety culture, beyond procedural compliance. A just culture of shared responsibility, open communication, and continuous learning empowers crews and supports incident prevention. Leadership development, psychological safety, and accessible feedback mechanisms are important to embedding this mindset onboard
- BIMCO supports transparent, task-based, and risk-informed crewing assessments by companies, in line with the ISM Code and supported by the principles of IMO Resolution A.1047(27)
- BIMCO supports the IMO in its DEEI initiatives that recognise the need to define “underrepresentation” in seafaring groups and address this to maintain operational resilience, innovation and competitiveness
- BIMCO supports initiatives to expand access to structured career development opportunities, including cadetship programmes, mentorship, sponsorship and scholarships programmes and guaranteed sea-time to attract new entrants to the profession and improve retention. BIMCO further advocates for better alignment between maritime education and training (MET) programmes and the evolving skill requirements, including those associated with digitalisation, decarbonisation, and alternative fuels
- BIMCO believes that a timely and comprehensive revision of the STCW Convention should embed both technical and non-technical skills, such as communication, leadership, and adaptability, as core safety enablers. BIMCO also encourages companies to integrate such training courses into internal training matrices and development frameworks
- BIMCO supports efforts to promote maritime careers and improve public perceptions of seafaring, especially among younger generations, and to improve retention
- BIMCO supports the integration of human-centred design principles into IMO instruments, ship and equipment design, procedural development, and safety management systems. BIMCO encourages companies to involve crew members in the development and review of operational procedures and work environments, enhancing ownership and ensuring that practical experience informs safe and efficient shipboard practices.
1 The term essential or key workers refers to individuals providing services vital to the functioning of society. These workers ensure the continuity of critical infrastructure and public services, including healthcare, food supply, utilities, transportation, and emergency response. The ILO and the IMO highlight the “the ability for shipping services and seafarers to deliver vital goods, including medical supplies and foodstuffs” as the defining characteristic. (IMO Circular Letter No. 4204/Add.18).