Celebrating the contributions of seafarers

Day of the Seafarer is an annual celebration that recognises the contribution seafarers make to international seaborne trade, the world economy, and our day-to-day lives. 

At AMSA, we are dedicated to protecting and enhancing seafarer welfare, not only because the shipping industry depends on seafarers, but because we believe they have a right to the same standard of working conditions that most of us take for granted.

Here are some of the ways that we make seafarer welfare a priority every day:

• We enforce standards for seafarer welfare in Australia by conducting ship inspections, banning ships from Australian waters when they breach the Maritime Labour Convention, and addressing complaints from seafarers.
• We lead the Australian Seafarer’s Welfare Council to help ensure the adequacy of existing welfare facilities and to assist in the coordination of regional welfare committees. This year the Newcastle Port Welfare Committee is running a ‘wave to a seafarer’ campaign to say thank you to seafarers — just one example among many initiatives from the seafarer support groups in our network. See their poster below.
• We advocate for seafarer welfare on behalf of Australia on the international stage.  
• We publish the Maritime Labour Convention Annual Report, and we recently published Safety Awareness Bulletins on safe working conditions and conditions of employment.
• And of course, we get behind Day of the Seafarer. Visit our Facebook and LinkedIn to read stories from AMSA staff as they support this year’s theme by sharing their #SafetyTipsAtSea.

Above: The Newcastle Port Welfare Committee’s ‘Newie Wave’ campaign for Day of the Seafarer this year

Read more about seafarer welfare at AMSA.