Salute the essential Merchant Navy

HMS Kent accompanies British shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Credit: LPhot Dan Rosenbaum, HMS Kent PPP-190930-163337003

From: Lt Cdr Les Chapman, Hon. Co. of Master Mariners, & 31 others

Yesterday (Thursday, September 3) was Merchant Navy Day. The annual Merchant Navy Day service at the Merchant Navy Memorials, Tower Hill, and the Annual National Service for Seafarers, administered by charity Seafarers UK, at St Paul’s Cathedral in mid-October, are cancelled.

Early Lockdown panic buying caused shortages. Supermarkets and suppliers did their best to steady the ship and soon most of us could again buy essential goods. One reason that was possible was the same reason it’s been possible for our having uninterrupted supplies of most things for most of our lives – merchant ships bring goods to our ports 24/7/365.

Some 95% of UK trade by volume (75% by value) comes and goes by ship. Merchant seafarers are often unsung heroes in our nation’s story, their ships bringing energy supplies and goods to our islands whatever the weather or circumstances.

The seven seas are an unforgiving environment and, while sailors sometimes enjoy calm seas and a prosperous voyage, heavy seas, storms, hurricanes and danger are ever present – over one hundred merchant seafarers died last year. Early this year cruise ships were at the centre of another storm – Covid-19.

Over fifty thousand other ships – bulk carriers, general cargo, specialist and container ships, tankers, ferries and trawlers – have, however, continued to ply the seas, wearing our Red Ensign or Blue Ensign or flags of other seafaring nations. Twenty million containers are crossing the globe right now. Of the world’s 1.6 million merchant seafarers some 300,000 are stuck at sea, unable to leave their ships, world travel restrictions having denied routine crew changes.

For many seafarers life is hell right now, without them your life might be hell too. Let’s salute Merchant Seafarers – our essential workers at sea.

Lieutenant Commander Les Chapman (Senior Warden, Honourable Company of Master Mariners)

Mark Dickinson (General Secretary, Nautilus International)

Rear Admiral Jeremy Larken (Managing Director, OCTO)

Vice Admiral John McAnally (National President, Royal Naval Association)

Captain Justin Osmond (Chief Executive, Shipwrecked Mariners Society)

Guy Platten (Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping)

Captain John Sail (National Chairman, Merchant Navy Association)

Commodore Bob Sanguinetti (CEO, UK Chamber of Shipping)

Catherine Spencer (CEO, Seafarers UK, King George’s Fund for Sailors)

Rear Admiral Bruce Williams (Editor, The Naval Review)

Rear Admiral David Snelson (Chief Harbourmaster, Port of London, 2006-11)