Day of the Seafarer 2014
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has designated the 25th of June as the “Day of the Seafarer” in 2010. It is an occasion to recognise and celebrate the contributions of 1.5 million seafarers worldwide. With more than 90% of world trade being carried by sea, seafarers provide a vital service that drives the shipping industry.
In celebration of the Day of the Seafarer, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union (SMOU) and the Singapore Organisation of Seamen (SOS) jointly distributed 600 hampers to ships that call at Singapore, reaching out to some 9,000 seafarers. To show our appreciation to the seafarers, MPA presented a financial grant of S$100,000 to the Mission to Singapore. The grant will be distributed to the Norwegian Seamen’s Mission, the Danish Seamen’s Church, and the International Lutheran Seafarers’ Mission. The annual grant supports a wide range of welfare services for seafarers, ranging from ship visitations to counselling services and pastoral care at the mission centres.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Transport, Mr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, presenting a hamper to one of the representatives from the shipping industry.
MPA’s Assistant Chief Executive (Operations), Captain M Segar, presenting a S$100,000 financial grant to the Mission to Seafarers.
MPA also works closely with the industry and unions to attract young and talented Singaporeans to take up seafaring careers and provide opportunities for them to upgrade their skills. To promote continuous learning and encourage young officers and seafarers to pursue a seafaring career, MPA presented book prizes to top students from the courses for maritime diploma and Certificate of Competency (CoC) in Singapore.
The list of book prize recipients from the Singapore Maritime Academy (SMA) is as follows
(June ’13 – June ’14)
(June ’13 – June ’14)
Special Limit
Special Limit
(2014 batch pass)
(2014 batch) - seagoing
The list of book prize recipients from the Wavelink Maritime Institute (WMI) is as follows:
The Day of the Seafarer is an opportunity to pay tribute to the world’s 1.5 million seafarers and to educate the public about issues which the modern-day seafarer faces. More importantly, it is an occasion for us to say “Thank you, seafarers“.
In a move to encourage the public to express their appreciation for seafarers through social media, IMO launched a hashtag campaign called #thankyouseafarers which asks the public to complete the sentence “Seafarers brought me…“ and share their story. Do you have a story to tell about seafarers? Share your experience and join us in the hashtag campaign to show your appreciation!