Society launches 2026 Seafarers Support Week
The Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society is proud to launch its annual Seafarers Support Week, which will run from Monday 22 June to Sunday 28 June.
The Society is committed to this annual campaign to promote and highlight the plight of serving and retired seafarers, as well as raising awareness of the dangers and sacrifices faced by those who work at sea. This includes recognising the vital contribution the maritime and fishing industries play in allowing us to preserve our standard of living.
The cost-of-living crisis continues unabated, compounded by world events and is blighting the lives of many who feel helpless and vulnerable; this is particularly evident in the often marginalised and forgotten seafaring community we serve. In a continuing effort to do all we can to alleviate distress, the Society has raise the grant we pay to our 1,200 regular beneficiaries to £988 a year, equivalent to just £19 per week. We have also reduced the sea service requirement for our one-off grants to 3 years (previously 5) which will allow us to help even more seafarers and their dependants in need.
The cost of providing this additional support, in addition to meeting the ever-increasing needs of our regular beneficiaries, means that during this year’s Seafarers Support Week, we have set ourselves the challenging target of raising an additional £40,000. This will allow us to continue to provide much needed support to individuals and families who in many cases have nowhere else to turn.
Across the past year we received 500 new applications for assistance and distributed grants amounting to £1.42 million in nearly 1,700 cases of need. The funds raised through Seafarers Support Week will be used to finance medical equipment and support those suffering long-term illness and disability; to provide financial respite for young families whose main income has been lost or greatly reduced; to provide household repairs and meet the funeral costs for a seafarer whose family are unable to meet the expense, as well as to support the new Household Appliance Fund.
It is due to the loyalty and kind heartedness of our supporters that we are able to continue our important work.
To support the Society’s work please visit: www.shipwreckedmariners.org.uk/donate