Campaign to Bring Stranded Mariners Home for Christmas Gathers Strength
The union for maritime professionals, Nautilus International, have launched a campagin to bring home stranded mariners, and it is gaining support on social media.
The groundswell of support for mariners trapped aboard vessels, or unable to return home because of the Covid crisis, is reaching tsunami proportions, and Twitter feeds throughout the maritime community are awash with support for mariners working past the end of their contracts, or stuck at home without work
Today, Nautilus International, the union for maritime professionals, launched its own campaign and petition to bring home the estimated 400,000 seafarers stranded on ships. They estimate a further 400,000 are ashore without contracts and in need of support.
The campaign urges people to tweet their local MP and bring the power of public opinion to bear on the problem. Parallel campaigns are working to afford mariners keyworker status and establish international cooperation to protect them in times of crisis.
While much work has been done to raise public awareness of the plight of mariners, and mainstream media outlets have covered the story, the fact remains that for the vast majority of the general public, mariners remain out of sight and out of mind.
