25 June marks the annual Day of the Seafarer, a celebration designated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to recognise the unique contribution made by seafarers from all over the world to international seaborne trade, the world economy and civil society as a whole.
This year, the theme for the Day of the Seafarer is "Seafarers Matter".
Seafarers do indeed matter to Singapore. There are about 1,000 ships with thousands of seafarers working on board visiting the Port of Singapore at any one time. They bring us nearly everything we eat, wear and work with. There are also a great number of seafarers on some 4,500 Singapore-flagged ships who spend a large portion of the year away from home traversing the high seas to make a living and keep global seaborne trade flowing.
To celebrate the Day of the Seafarer, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) partnered with the Singapore Maritime Officers' Union (SMOU), the Singapore Organisation of Seamen (SOS) and the seafarer missions in Singapore to send gift hampers filled with local goodies such as Milo and utility items to visiting seafarers in the month of June.
MPA, together with the
Mission to Seafarers Singapore and Jurong Port also held an open house at the
Mission to Seafarers Singapore International Drop-In Centre in Jurong Port on 28 June.
IMO Secretary-General Mr Kitack Lim's
Day of the Seafarer video message and a photo montage of the welfare activities for seafarers in Singapore were screened at the centre. A special
video capturing the voices of Singaporeans expressing their appreciation to seafarers was also commissioned and screened at the centre for this year's Day of the Seafarer.
Find out more about the Day of the Seafarer:
http://bit.ly/2rFmCZa.
Gift hampers were given out to seafarers at the centre by MPA's Director of Shipping and Director of Marine, Captain Daknashamoorthy Ganasen
MPA contributes an annual grant of $150,000 to support the good and tireless work of the various seafarers' missions in Singapore, who partners MPA in the conduct of welfare services and support of seafarers on ships calling at the Port of Singapore. Captain Frederick Francis, Vice Chairman of the Mission to Seafarers Singapore received the cheque on behalf of the seafarers' missions in Singapore
Check out some of the Singapore buzz related coverage surrounding the Day of the Seafarer this year!
