This week has been Mental Health Awareness Week and we have focused on how we can contribute to reducing mental health stigma in the maritime industry. Here at the Chamber, I am pleased to say that each member of staff will be participating in Mental Health Awareness Training to ensure we are doing all we can to support colleagues across the sector and to spot the signs if someone is struggling. We are also proud to be one of the initial signatories to the Maritime UK Mental Health Pledge, with a commitment to improving the quality of mental health and wellbeing provision throughout our organisation and our industry.

This week we saw the publication of the Vaccine Roadmap framework to help establish vaccination hubs dedicated to seafarers across the world. We have seen the US and the Netherlands prioritise seafarers for vaccination which is good news and this new ICS document can be used by shipping companies, their agents and representatives during the planning and roll-out stages of the vaccination programme. If any member has a question about the Vaccine Roadmap framework please get in touch with our policy lead Mel White.

Recently I met with the team from The Maritime Observatory, which is a partnership between the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST) and OceanMind. It was established to detect and deter looting of archaeological heritage and naval war graves globally. Using special technology they can track all sorts of behaviours across the world from illegal fishing, environmental damage from potentially leaking wrecks, looting or naval war graves, and archaeological sites. The team would welcome notification of any “suspicious activity at sea" (in confidence) and would be grateful for anyone who might consider helping them with much needed funding to scale up their monitoring. For  more information please contact: observatory@thisismast.org or visit their website: https://www.thisismast.org

We were delighted to announce this week that JG Maritime Solutions has joined the Chamber. JG Maritime Solutions is a family business that can provide maritime consultancy on a global basis. It has a truly global reach across all parts of the world, offering a bespoke independent maritime consultancy that meets the business needs of individual customers adding value to their business and I am thrilled that they are now part of the Chamber, getting to enjoy all the benefits of being a member. If you are interested in joining the Chamber please contact our Head or Membership Tony Jerome: tjerome@ukchamberofshipping.com

Bob