New Maritime Charities Group report predicts major changes for UK seafarers

The Maritime Charities Group commissioned research whcih found that from more than half a million today, the UK’s seafaring community (defined as active seafarers, former seafarers, and dependent children) is predicted to decline to 300,000 by 2040.

The number of active seafarers is also envisaged to fall by an average of 6% in the same timeframe. The most severe prediction in the report’s range, which analysed large existing data sets, predicts active seafarer numbers will fall by nearly a third.

The MCG, which fosters collaboration and best practice within the maritime charity sector, unveiled its report on Monday 8th September at Trinity House in London. An expert panel discussed the findings and how charities and the wider maritime sector could respond.

The panel included our own Impact Director Tina Barnes, Andy Jones from Nautilus Welfare Fund, Sandra Welch of Seafarers Hospital Society, Vikki Muir from Trinity House, and the academics who wrote the report, Dr Joanne McVeigh and Caroline Pena.

Seafarers 2040 also includes interviews with hundreds of seafarers and their families. It found that two in five seafarers already believe their ships are unsafe due to lack of crew, and only a third agree that they receive enough shore leave in their months-long contracts.

Declining communities could mean that the UK struggles to recruit the next generation of seafarers, the MCG warned. Seafarers handle 90% of the UK’s traded goods and support the Royal Navy via the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, as well as crewing cruise ships, ferries and more. Threats to food security posed by sharply falling numbers of people employed in commercial fishing were also identified in the report.

Despite tube strikes across the capital, the event was well attended and inspired thought-provoking discussions with a knowledgeable audience. Proceedings were chaired by Dr Tim Slingsby, chair of the MCG.