Seapost - September 2026

In this edition, we thank everyone who took part in our Fly the Red Ensign campaign on Merchant Navy Day 2026, from raising the Red Ensign and attending ceremonies to showing their support online. We also congratulate the 11 recipients of the 2026 Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service.

We celebrate the success of Waves of Influence, which returned to Fishmongers’ Hall on 11 September and raised more than £50,000 for The Seafarers’ Charity and Sailors’ Children’s Society, bringing together maritime leaders and supporters to celebrate women across the sector and champion greater diversity.

Looking ahead, we invite readers to join us at the Annual National Service for Seafarers on 14 October at St Paul’s Cathedral, bringing together seafarers, their families, maritime organisations and supporters to give thanks for those who work at sea, honour those who have served and remember those who have lost their lives.

We also celebrate our Chair, Paul Butterworth AFNI, who has raised more than £10,000 through his Chairman’s Challenge after completing the 100km South Coast Ultra Challenge, and will take on the Great South Run on 18 October for the second and final part of his challenge.

We share the second film in our “Smart Seafaring. A Safe Return” animated series, which follows Mateo and his colleagues as they learn to recognise potential warning signs of seafarer abandonment, stay vigilant and access trusted guidance and support.

For our Charity of the Month, we highlight the work of Sailors’ Society and their Crisis Response Network, which provides crisis response and wellbeing support to seafarers and their families around the world, and explore how our funding is helping the charity respond when things go wrong while providing proactive support before seafarers reach crisis point.

Finally, we encourage supporters to sign up for our 24 Peaks Challenge 2027 in the Lake District, where participants can choose from the Gold 24 Peaks, Silver 21 Peaks or the brand new Scafell Pike Challenge while raising vital funds to support seafarers and their families.