Liverpool Seafarers Centre is delighted to have been named the latest charity member to join the UK Chamber of Shipping.
The chamber, which made the announcement on Monday 5 October, is the voice of the UK shipping industry which contributes nearly £20bn a year to the UK economy and supports over 180,000 jobs across the country. Liverpool Seafarers Centre joins 190 other companies and charities as members.
Commenting on the membership, John Wilson, chief executive of Liverpool Seafarers Centre, said:
“We are delighted to have been named a member of the UK Chamber of Shipping. It is an honour to be deemed worthy to join this professional organisation, which will inevitably endorse and give recognition of our work on the maritime stage and will strengthen our mission to have a positive impact on the lives of seafarers.
“Liverpool Seafarers Centre gives a voice to the thousands of people who make their living from the sea, whether through campaigning on international issues on their behalf or assisting them on a local level with anything from advice on employment relationships to providing a listening ear on board ships and when they visit our centres in the Liverpool area.
“This year, more than ever, seafarers need our help due to the dire situation they have been left in by COVID-19 travel restrictions, with hundreds of thousands left stranded at sea and many others stuck at home unable to get to ships to begin their contracts. We have campaigned throughout the pandemic for seafarers to be classed as key workers to assist their journeys back home and expressed our fears for the mental health of those trapped on vessels, with some we have met reaching more than 400 days at sea.
“We look forward to working with the Chamber to further our aims for those we represent.”
Welcoming the charity to the Chamber, Head of Membership Tony Jerome said:
“We are delighted to welcome Liverpool Seafarers Centre as the newest member of our recently launched Charity Membership category. The UK Chamber of Shipping protects, defends and promotes the interest of all our members and the wider UK shipping industry. Everyone at the Chamber looks forward to working with Liverpool Seafarers Centre through the coming months and years.”