Established in 1917 as The King George’s Fund for Sailors to support the families of seafarers lost at sea during World War One, The Seafarers’ Charity is the largest independent grant funder of charitable welfare services. It is the only global maritime funder that supports everyone who works at sea, whatever their seafaring profession – from fishing to merchant mariners and the Royal Navy too.
The Seafarers’ Charity raises funds and invests more than £2m in impactful grant funding every year to support the safety and welfare of seafarers. Their grant funding supports the core running costs of the largest and most well-known ship visiting charities. Also funded are digital and multilingual advice and support services that are available 24/7 and 365 days per year by seafarers and their families – whether at sea or in port, at home or during retirement. Grant funded services range from everything a seafarer may need – from ship visiting and hardship grants as well as debt advice, relationship counselling, retirement accommodation, practical help and advice and crisis response, as well as specialist support for veterans and women working at sea.
As an independent charity – without influence from governments, vessel owners or trade bodies – The Seafarers’ Charity advocates to raise awareness of systemic issues impacting seafarers such as toxic leadership, bullying, harassment, sexual violence, suicide at sea, the dangers of alternative fuels, crew welfare on superyachts and the labour exploitation of migrant crew working in UK fishing.
A strong focus on safety at sea includes funding CHIRP Maritime – a confidential incident reporting programme, as well as their SeaViews podcast about maritime safety. Improving fishing safety includes working with the National Federation of Fishing Organisations to fund a lead safety role for the benefit of the fishing industry, a series of popular FISH Safe information films and funding for stability testing a scale model catamaran to inform and influence regulatory standards on the stability of fishing vessels. The Seafarers’ Charity also funds Port Skills and Safety’s fishing port project. Internationally, the charity manages the International Fund for Fishing Safety which aims to improve the safety of fishing throughout the world.
On behalf of the merchant sector The Seafarers’ Charity created and lead the Fly the Red Ensign campaign to raise awareness of Merchant Navy Day and to celebrate the people working under the Red Ensign. In 2024 The Seafarers’ Charity created the first National Fishing Remembrance Day to honour and remember those who lost their lives at sea while bringing fish to our tables. Each year The Seafarers’ Charity organises the Annual National Service for Seafarers, held at St Pauls Cathedral.
Ever since King George V, The Seafarers’ Charity has retained its association with the Royal Family. The Seafarers’ Charity is honoured to have the patronage of His Royal Highness King Charles III and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh as President.