On Wednesday 3 June during Posidonia in Athens, BIMCO hosted a symposium focused on mariners. This event raised important questions about how we can sustain, attract and protect the two million men and women we depend on to power the world’s merchant fleet.
Below are some of the ideas and issues raised by the BIMCO President, Secretary General and Committee members.
BIMCO President, Paul Pathy, gave the opening remarks before the first panel session focused on the fundamental need to secure a sustainable workforce for seafarers, while the second session focused on the challenges of protecting them.
“This could not be more important at a time when there are approximately 20,000 seafarers stranded in the Arabian Gulf. In times like these, not only is the principle of freedom of navigation compromised, but also the freedom of seafarers who are prevented from returning home to their families. Once again, they are paying a very heavy price in the midst of conflict,” Pathy said. Their freedom of navigation should never be negotiable.”
David Losley, Secretary General and CEO of BIMCO, concluded the event:
“Today’s discussions leave me confident that we are in good hands, and it appears that the right questions have been asked. I particularly like some of the suggestions about how we can operationalize some of this to help our seafarers and translate it into seafarers’ language. As Paul said at the start, when shipping makes the headlines, it’s usually because something has gone wrong, and often what gets lost behind the headlines is the human dimension and the people,” Losley said.
The struggle for talent and the need to improve skills
The first session was moderated by Dr Bev McKenzie, Head of Intergovernmental Engagement at BIMCO. Aaron Frank Sørensen, Chief Environment Officer at BIMCO, kicked off the discussions by updating the audience on the methodologies and logic behind the BIMCO & ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026 which will be published on 25 June.
Elpi Petracchi, Director of Chartering, Operations and Business Development at ENEA MANAGEMENT INC, President of WISTA International and Secretary General of the Greek Short Sea Shipowners Association, spoke about the importance of not only attracting the younger generation of seafarers, but also focusing on retaining the experience and knowledge of seafarers who want to go ashore. She said that supporting the transition from a career at sea to a career ashore is crucial.
When looking at the profile of seafarers, and what is needed to prepare them for the future, there are gaps in recruitment and training processes, said Julia Anastasio, CEO of Crew Management at OSM Thome. She also said that there is currently a struggle for talent rather than a struggle for recruitment, and reminded everyone that when we look at gaps and costs, we are looking at people. She said improvements must be made collectively and with the participation of governments, flag states and other stakeholders.
Marina Papaioannou, Director of DNV’s Regional Maritime Academies, noted that hundreds of seafarers need to improve their skills. As new fuels arrive, the industry will need to address this issue due to the transition period. She warned that the industry must address safety issues regarding new fuels and that this was a major concern for seafarers. In addition, she noted that skills such as leadership and communication must also be enhanced to make seafarers feel safe and that the human element should never be left behind.
Criminalization: Preparing our maritime workforce for the worst
The second discussion session was moderated by Katerina Elikonida Marudi, Regulatory Director at BIMCO.
Firstly, Eleni Antoniadou, lawyer at Gard AS and English lawyer, highlighted that when we see drug cases, the scapegoat is often the seafarers. She pointed out that such cases often receive significant media attention and often lead to the detention of sailors for long periods. Additionally, she added that the industry is seeing a rise in drug cases and that ship owners must support the crew by providing legal support, accommodation, medical assistance, food, etc.
Alan Croft, Business Development Manager at the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN), noted that many stakeholders are involved in criminalization issues. In these situations, seafarers do not know what will happen next and neither do families back home, as information about the future financial situation and how long it will all last is unknown and worrying. He said the role of the network is to reduce human impact and that prevention and preparedness are crucial, including education on the consequences, risks of transgressions, what to do, who to contact immediately, what their rights are and how to preserve evidence. He suggested that a practical emergency package could make a real difference to our seafarers who are essential to global trade but are often not treated as such.
Fair treatment of seafarers as a term somewhat precedes the feeling that seafarers are treated unfairly, but these countries often say they provide due process, said Leo Bolivar, country director at IRI and the Marshall Islands Registry, Manila office. He pointed out that flag states cannot outcompete coastal states, and sailors must be allowed access to consular offices. Although the matter is complex, a collective effort is necessary, and all stakeholders must cooperate.
Finally, Dr. Joanna Eugenia Baccone, Director of Learning and Development – Maritime Training at Maersk and Academic Course Director at Lloyd’s Maritime Academy, said more effort must be made to implement training for many different scenarios. She noted that the guidelines on a website at 3am when seafarers face prosecution are just that: guidelines, and that better training and support are needed. She added that compliance training is important, but when most sailors fail it is because they were not prepared to feel fear, and that one cannot get out of such a situation. She also noted that sailors need to practice realistic scenarios and see the consequences of mistakes that occur during those sessions. In conclusion, she provided a reminder that most of us do not fear being arrested or detained when we go to work but that seafarers are exposed to such risks and that training beyond compliance is needed.
Source: Bimco, https://www.bimco.org/news-insights/bimco-news/2026/06/04-posidonia/
