People everywhere are being urged to voice their support for seafarers by using social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, by posting videos on YouTube, discussing seafarer issues on LinkedIn, or even writing a blog about life at sea, to mark the first ever international Day of the Seafarer, on 25 June, 2011.

Last year, the Diplomatic Conference which met in Manila to adopt milestone revisions to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (the STCW Convention) and its associated Code, also agreed that the unique contribution made by seafarers from all over the world to international seaborne trade, the world economy and civil society as a whole, should be marked annually with a ‘Day of the Seafarer’. 

The date chosen was 25 June, the day on which the amendments were formally adopted.

An innovative web-based and social media campaign forms the centrepiece of efforts to celebrate the ‘Day of the Seafarer’ and to pay tribute to the world’s 1.5 million seafarers – men and women from all over the globe – for the unique, and all-too-often overlooked, contribution they make to the well-being of all of us.

The campaign, which emphasizes the fact that shipping is the engine of global commerce, responsible for the carriage of more than 90 per cent of world trade, and that it is seafarers who ensure the engine runs smoothly, delivering the essential items and commodities on which our lives depend, has already garnered support from industry partners, seafarers’ groups and many more.

The campaign is designed to be both educational and inspirational, including live, interactive links with seafarers aboard ships at sea. Everyone is encouraged to send the simple yet powerful message: “Thank you, seafarers”.