New initiative on seafarers’ human sustainability
Written by Nick Blenkey
The Seafarers’ Human Sustainability Declaration was launched during the U.S. Coast Guard AMVER awards ceremony at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence in Oslo, during Nor-Shipping. Front row: Peter Hult, CEO, Vikand; Ezekiel Davis, regional VP, ABS; Stephen Schueler, Advisory Board Member, Vikand. Middle row: Susanne Justesen, senior lead diversity & inclusion, Global Maritime Forum; Chris Bhatt, CCO transportation & logistics, Aon; Ben Palmer, president, Inmarsat Maritime; Kiran Venkatesh, CEO, FrontM. Back row: Nick Chubb, founder & managing director, Thetius; Marcel Kind, CEO, Simwave.
Maritime medical services provider Vikand Solutions LLC and a number of other maritime stakeholders have launched the Seafarers’ Human Sustainability Declaration.
The declaration aims to recognize and improve how the global maritime community meets the human sustainability needs of seafarers, both today and into the future.
“Our goal is to develop a global platform for sustainable seafaring to ensure the future commercial viability of the maritime industry,” said Vikand CEO Peter Hult, in a speech at the declaration’s launch event. “We want to encourage dialogue around the principles of seafarer wellbeing so that the maritime industry can develop and adopt best practices for those working at sea and their loved ones back home. We need to develop a sustainable seafaring community to future proof the maritime sector.”
The Seafarers’ Human Sustainability Declaration has the support of the Global Maritime Forum and key maritime businesses including Inmarsat, ABS, insurer Aon, ShipMoney and others,
Vikand says the ultimate aim of the declaration is to kick-start discussions in the maritime industry and make seafarer human sustainability a priority for the whole of the shipping industry.
“Only by working together as maritime colleagues can we start to make long-lasting improvements to the overall welfare and well-being of our seafarers which in turn will safeguard the future viability of the shipping industry,” Hult said
“Aon is pleased to support the Seafarers’ Human Sustainability Declaration and the resulting increase in dialogue around building a more sustainable workforce,” said Chris Bhatt, chief commercial officer at Aon. “Aside from the obvious benefits to seafarers and their families, there has long been a link between human behavior and incident occurrence so if we can collectively work to improve seafarer health and wellbeing, this should have a really positive impact on risk.”
