In the latest in conversation episode of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast, Emma Howell, content director at Seatrade spoke with director of programme at The Mission to Seafarers, Ben Bailey, to mark a new partnership between Seatrade Maritime and The Mission to Seafarers.

Ben shares details of MtS’ work supporting over half a million seafarers and their families every year, from the 50,000 ship visits carried out globally every year to providing provisions to abandoned seafarers and the famous woolly hat campaign.

The pair discuss the challenges seafarers face in their work, and how the Mission helps to address issues like abandonment, trauma, mismanagement, and human rights abuses, particularly in regions with weaker regulatory frameworks. From there, Ben identifies the actions various stakeholders can take to improve seafarers’ lives.

The conversation covers the Seafarers Happiness Index and its 10-year history of providing insights into the lives of those working at sea.

Ben shares the Mission’s hopes to expand into Saudi Arabia to offer its impartial support in the Kingdom’s multiple major ports, building on the charity’s long history serving seafarers in the Middle East.