The Seafarers’ Charity marks Maritime Safety Week 2026

From 6-10 July, organisations across the maritime sector will be marking Maritime Safety Week.  

Seafaring can be a hugely rewarding career for all who feel the call of the sea, whether serving in the navy, merchant navy, on cruise ships or yachts, as a fisher, or elsewhere. Yet seafaring remains one of the world’s most dangerous professions. 

Studies have shown that seafarers face substantially elevated mortality rates, injury, and illness compared to shore-based workers. Statistics indicate that one in eleven seafarers will sustain an injury at work, and that British seafarers face a 70 % higher risk of injury compared to land-based employees. 

At The Seafarers’ Charity, one of our strategic outcomes that we work towards is Safer Working Lives at Sea: In 2025 we awarded almost £150,000 in grants towards making seafarers’ jobs safer.  

We advocate for safer practices on board ships, use our voice to call for change when we see gaps in regulation, and collaborate with organisations across the world to help seafarers cope with daily safety challenges that they face. 

To mark this special week we are spotlighting several of our initiatives covering maritime safety. 

Check out: 

• Our newly released series of films on seafarer abandonment
• A recent webinar on psychological safety at sea in collaboration with OCIMF and ISWAN
• The work of the International Fund for Fishing Safety, which we manage 

We support a number of delivery partners in their safety initiatives for seafarers, including: 

• Befrienders Worldwide: Seafarers | Befrienders Worldwide Support
• Global Maritime Forum’s ‘Unspoken’ initiative addressing harassment and misconduct on board  
• The Seaviews Podcast
• Fish Safe film series with advice and guidance on safety for fishers