Liverpool Seafarers Centre (LSC) has been officially recognised for its work promoting diversity and inclusion by the judges of a prestigious industry award.
The centre has been shortlisted in the Diversity and Inclusion category in the 2022 Mersey Maritime Industry Awards.
They are a celebration of the strength and diversity of the North West’s maritime industry, which is known to be worth £5bn to the Liverpool City Region alone.
They also give vital recognition to the world-class standards upheld in the region and reinforce the region’s position as a global maritime centre of excellence.
Now in their eighth year, the winners will be announced in the iconic and prestigious, Liverpool Cathedral on Thursday November 10, 2022. They will be chosen by a voting process involving local, national and international industry members.
Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the work carried out by LSC. Each year it helps 50,000 seafarers from many nations and differing cultures across the world visiting Merseyside ports.
Those seafarers typically come from more than 20 countries around the globe, including the Philippines, India, China, Ukraine, Poland, Indonesia and Russia.
LSC works to bring them together as a seafarers community as it looks to give them support and tackle some of the issues of exclusion that they face. It offers to all, irrespective of race or creed, a safe and secure place to rest as well as practical and emotional support.
The LSC is also a diverse organisation in its own right, with a range of full time and volunteer support staff from different nationalities as well as a broad range of ages.
The charity’s key work involves visiting vessels to integrate with the crew, offering a listening ear to help combat isolation and loneliness and providing places ashore for seafarers to relax away from their working environment.
LSC worked tirelessly to support ship crew members suffering from Covid restrictions, highlighting the plight of some of the 200,000 seafarers that at one stage were stranded at sea due to travel restrictions.
At the start of the conflict in Ukraine LSC gave emotional support to scores of ship crew members struggling with the impact of events in eastern Europe.
The centre has also actively campaigned for a review of seafarer rights arguing that seafarers are too often exploited by the opaqueness of international law and whatever flag state they sail under. It has also called for increased welfare funding for seafarers.
LSC chief executive John Wilson said: “We are really pleased that the work we carry out has been recognised by the award judges. It is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our team and their commitment to making a real difference ever day of the year.
“Given recent global events it is more important than ever to remember the challenges facing seafarers and their families, and the vital role they play. Our role is to be here for them and help and give the help and support that we can.”
Chris Shirling-Rooke, chief executive at Mersey Maritime said: “The standard of entries this year is the highest we have seen, and our judges certainly had a tough job in working to draw up the final list which will now proceed to our industry wide vote.
“Everyone who submitted an entry can be incredibly proud of their work; it was really encouraging to see the depth of the activity that is going on within our sector which we know to be growing further and contributing substantially to the regional economy.”