June 25th is the International Day of the Seafarer. Today everyone should be reminded the strenuous efforts of over 1.6 million seafarers, men and women at sea in Europe and all around the world.
Every year, European shipping contributes around €149 billion to the EU’s GDP and 2 million jobs. 76% of the EU’s external trade in goods and 32% of its internal transport of goods is carried by ships. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European shipping industry has been working even harder to ensure that vital goods such as food and medical supplies, as well as energy supplies and the transport services continue to be delivered to millions of EU citizens. All of this was largely due to seafarers and as Kitack Lim – IMO Secretary General – mentioned: “seafarers have always been at the heart of world trade and their work touches the lives of each and every one of us”…
