Aggregating Industry Wisdom to Protect Seafarers' Rights—Seminar on the "2026 Global Seafarer Health and Rights Blue Book" Held

Recently, the ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) project group of the World Maritime Business Congress (referred to as the Maritime Business ESG project group) held global seafarer health and rights blue paper seminars in Dalian and Shanghai. Experts and representatives from over 20 international shipping organizations, classification societies, industry unions, universities, and research institutions gathered to deeply discuss the current status, challenges, and improvement paths for seafarers' health and rights. The discussions centered on the compilation and application of the "2026 Global Seafarer Health and Rights Blue Paper" (hereinafter referred to as the "Blue Paper") and offered suggestions for strengthening the foundation of global maritime talent.

The shipping industry is currently accelerating toward fleet expansion, efficient operations, technological intelligence, and green low-carbon development. However, regardless of how ship technology evolves, the core force ensuring safe voyages and maintaining the stable operation of global trade supply chains has always been the seafarers onboard. Safeguarding seafarers' health and rights not only concerns their personal career development and quality of life but also directly impacts maritime safety, talent reserves, and the industry's long-term sustainable development.

The year 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the "Maritime Labour Convention, 2006" (MLC 2006). The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has designated the themes for World Maritime Day in 2026 and 2027 as "From Policy to Practice: Driving Maritime Excellence," extending the theme for the first time to two years. The IMO stated this move aims to underscore the determination to translate policy commitments into tangible actions. The international focus on safeguarding seafarers' rights has shifted from establishing institutional frameworks to implementing systems and improving actual experiences—making the enhancement of onboard work conditions and quality of life a central focus of continuous industry attention.

Against this important milestone, the series of seminars brought together voices from across the global maritime supply chain to explore feasible pathways for safeguarding seafarers' rights.

The seminars gathered experts and representatives from more than 20 organizations, including the National Committee of the Chinese Seamen Construction Union, the China Shipowners’ Association, the Chinese Sociological Association’s Labor Sociology Division, the Shanghai Shipping Insurance Association, the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, the Hong Kong Seamen’s Union, the Hong Kong Maritime Industry Association, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), Dalian Maritime University, the China Classification Society (CCS), Xinde Maritime News, Lloyd’s List, China Merchants Energy Shipping, COSCO Shipping crew members, Huayang Maritime, as well as representatives from insurers, maritime authorities, authorized service centers, ship management companies, pilot stations, ship agencies, medical and health management organizations. Discussion topics covered various dimensions, including physical health, mental health, welfare protection, onboard interpersonal interactions, peer support, family connections, corporate measures, and policy alignment.

The "Blue Paper" research integrates the long-term scientific research achievements of various partner universities and the years of practical experience from industry organizations and unions. It establishes an international collaborative network for research on cross-national seafarer issues. The project has collected nearly 5,000 seafarer questionnaires and 65 shipping company surveys, using robust primary empirical data as a research foundation. By analyzing corporate systems and supportive arrangements against seafarers’ actual experiences, the "Blue Paper" observes physical health, mental health, and welfare protection dimensions, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the availability, adequacy, and seafarer perceptions of related measures.

Experts at the seminar stated that this research, supported by large-scale cross-national questionnaires from seafarers and collaboratively compiled by institutions and experts from multiple countries, harnesses the collective efforts of international shipping organizations, shipowners, ship management companies, service agencies, higher education institutions, academic organizations, and seafarer communities. It will offer internationally-oriented and practically valuable references for global seafarer rights protection initiatives, showcasing the spirit of cross-national cooperation in jointly safeguarding seafarer rights within the global maritime industry.

After incorporating further feedback from industry experts, the "Blue Paper" will be officially released on November 16 at the 2026 World Maritime Business Congress in Hong Kong, providing the global shipping industry with new insights into the current status of seafarer health and rights protection and driving ongoing improvements in related fields.