FACTS AND FIGURES

Did you know?

• 90% of world trade is carried by the sea, providing work to more than a million seafarers.

• 30 million people make a living by fishing.

• The rate of suicide for international seafarers is triple that of shore workers, and they are 26 times more likely to be killed at work.

• Shipping is a truly international industry: in today’s global market you might have a Greek-owned vessel, registered in Malta, with officers from India and a mixed crew from Thailand, Indonesia, Vanuatu, and the Philippines.

• Piracy hit an all-time high in the first six months of 2011, with 266 attacks worldwide, up from 196 a year earlier, according to statistics from the International Maritime Bureau. Of the 266 attacks, 60% were carried out by Somalia-based pirates.

• Seafarers are among the most exploited and abused groups of workers in the world, yet their plight is barely recognised by the mainstream media and public opinion, says the ITF report, ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’.

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