The Seafarers’ Charity welcomes hero fisherman who saved 12 lives

Mr Lee is a South Korean fisherman who saved twelve crew from drowning when the fishing vessel he was working on capsized. He was recognised with the International Maritime Organization’s annual bravery award for 2025 and paid a visit to our offices while in London to collect his accolade.

Deborah Layde, our chief executive, presented Tae-Young Lee with a certificate of recognition on behalf of our charity, as did the Sailors’ Children Society, to commemorate his life-saving efforts.

Fishing is one of the world’s most dangerous professions, with more than 30,000 fishers losing their lives each year while working. Many fishers have never received any safety training, and their boats often lack equipment like life jackets.

Capt. Lee was accompanied by Mr. Sang-hee Lee, from the Federation of Korean Seafarers' Unions, and Jihyeon Kim who both facilitated the visit along with our programme manager Stella Aber, and provided interpretation throughout.

Alan McCulla, co-ordinator of the International Fund for Fishing Safety, congratulated Tae-Young Lee on his heroic actions, and initiated a discussion on challenges facing seafarers all over the world, including lack of safety training, unacceptable hours of work and rest, and discrimination and poor treatment of migrant workers.

Our visitors agreed that better education and training were urgently needed to complement safety regulations, ensuring that fishers in South Korea and beyond are able to enjoy safe and fulfilling working lives.

To find out more about challenges facing fishers around the world, check out the new film from Friday’s Child, ‘All that separates us is distance’, which you can watch here.