Charitable Trusts & Foundations

For welfare professionals working across hundreds of ports worldwide, coordinating and recording timely, effective support for seafarers can be a significant logistical challenge. Without the right tools, critical welfare needs can go unmet.

With the generous support of The Seafarers' Trust and the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, The Mission to Seafarers is delivering major enhancements to the Ship Visitor app - the digital platform used by welfare professionals to record ship visits, manage welfare cases, and track vessels in real time. As well as the development of a new modernised interface, this one-of-a-kind platform is more powerful, more intuitive, and better equipped to support frontline welfare work across the globe.

The app enables organisations to coordinate support and build a clearer picture of seafarer need globally. The result is a welfare network that is smarter, better connected, and better equipped to reach seafarers wherever they are in the world.

The welfare needs of seafarers visiting UK ports are met by our dedicated teams of staff and volunteers - experienced individuals who build lasting relationships with crews and provide consistent, high-quality support day in, day out.

With the generous support of the Benefact Trust and other funders, we have been able to grow and strengthen our volunteering programme across the UK - recruiting and training new volunteers in ports where additional capacity is needed, and investing in the coordination and support structures that help volunteers thrive in their roles.

The result is a welfare network that is more joined-up and better resourced, ensuring more seafarers receive the care and companionship they need when they arrive in port.

Women make up just two per cent of the global seafaring workforce. They often face unique challenges at sea - from a lack of basic welfare provisions to isolation and safety concerns - they have historically been underserved by the maritime welfare sector.

Through the generous support of the TK Foundation, Lloyd's Register, MNWB, AET, and BHP, The Mission to Seafarers has taken significant steps to change that. Our UK centres have been made more welcoming for female crew, with dedicated facilities and free sanitary and personal care supplies now available as standard. We have also developed an online training course equipping maritime welfare professionals with the knowledge and confidence to better support women and LGBTQ+ seafarers - a first for the sector.

The result is a welfare network that is more inclusive, more responsive, and better equipped to serve every seafarer who walks through our doors.

For many seafarers, stepping ashore is not simply a matter of walking off the ship. Without reliable transportation, crew members can find themselves stranded on their vessels, unable to access the shops, services, and moments of normality that make such a difference after weeks at sea.

Transportation is one of the most valued services The Mission to Seafarers provides - and it depends entirely on having a reliable, well-maintained vehicle fleet. With the generous support of the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, MNWB and the Baltic Exchange Charitable Foundation, we are able to provide ongoing investment into our vehicle fleet, and be there for seafarers when they need us most.

In 2025 alone, our teams transported over 150,000 seafarers across our ports - ensuring that every crew member who wanted to get ashore was able to do so. Whether visiting a supermarket, a pharmacy, or simply stepping away from the confined walls of their vessel to walk on dry land - for seafarers far from home, shore leave is not a luxury. It is essential to their health, their wellbeing, and their safety.

Seafarers experience significantly higher rates of mental health challenges than the general population. Months spent at sea, isolated from family and support networks, can take a serious toll. For cadets just beginning their careers at sea, the risks are particularly acute.

With the generous support of Trinity House and The Seafarers' Charity, The Mission to Seafarers is delivering safeTALK suicide alertness training to maritime cadets in the UK and India. The programme equips trainees with the skills to recognise when someone may be struggling and the confidence to start a conversation that could save a life - embedding a culture of openness and care at the very start of a seafarer's career.

The result is a growing cohort of maritime professionals who are not just technically skilled, but emotionally equipped to look out for one another at sea.

When a shipping company collapses or an unscrupulous owner disappears, the crew left behind face a desperate situation - stranded on board their vessels, unpaid, and with limited supplies of food, water, or a way home. Abandonment is one of the most serious crises a seafarer can face, and it is more common than many realise.

With the generous support of our funders, The Mission to Seafarers is there when it matters most - providing emergency provisions, pastoral support, legal guidance, and practical assistance to seafarers who have been left with nothing. In 2025 alone, our team in the UAE supported seafarers across 17 abandonment cases, working tirelessly to ensure no crew member was left to face the situation alone.

The result is a vital lifeline for seafarers in crisis - ensuring that even in their darkest moments, far from home and with nowhere to turn, The Mission to Seafarers is there to make sure that no one is left to face abandonment alone.