The Seafarers Advice and Information Line (SAIL) is 25 years old today. Launched on 24th September 1996 by the Seafarers Hospital Society and originally known as the Seafarers Benefits Advice Line (SBAL), it was a new telephone helpline service for seafarers operating under the umbrella of the nationally acclaimed Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) service. SBAL … Continued

The Seafarers Hospital Society (SHS), Yale University and Lloyd’s Register Foundation told shipping companies that they will need to create a culture of care if they are to adequately address the health and welfare needs of seafarers. Reporting on the early findings of their landmark study of maritime worker health initiatives at a London International … Continued

Seafarers Hospital Society Panel discussion: Putting Seafarers at the Heart of Shipping Date: ThursdaySeptember 16th 2021 Time: 3.00 PM to 4.00 PM BST Virtual Event: Seafarers Hospital Society Panel Discussion and Q&A The speakers for this panel discussion include: Sandra Welch, CEO of Seafarers Hospital Society Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping Mr Ismael Cobos … Continued

The Seafarers Hospital Society (SHS), Yale University and Lloyd’s Register Foundation will reveal the early findings of their landmark study of maritime worker health initiatives at London International Shipping Week (LISW) next month. The Society will be hosting a virtual panel discussion for LISW delegates on Thursday 16th September from 3.00 – 4.00pm BST. Panellists … Continued

The Seafarers Hospital Society (SHS) has launched a campaign to support the physical health of maritime workers while at sea and on land. Starting tomorrow, Friday 25th June, on the IMO’s Day of the Seafarer, and running to the end of July, the campaign reflects the IMO’s theme of ‘A Fair Future for Seafarers’. The aim is to draw attention to the intense physical demands of working in the maritime industry and the need to address the toll it can take on seafarers’ bodies.

The 19th century philanthropists who founded the Seamen’s (now Seafarers) Hospital Society were motivated above all by the desire to improve the lives of seafarers. The Society was set up in 1821 to solve the ‘problem’ of thousands of unemployed and sick seamen begging on the streets of London after the Napoleonic Wars. The idea … Continued

The Seafarers Hospital Society (SHS) and Yale University are collaborating on a landmark study to determine the effectiveness of initiatives taken by shipping companies, charities and the wider maritime sector to keep seafarers healthy and safe.  This six-month study aims to review existing research and recommendations, identify current practices, determine their coverage across the industry … Continued

The SHS Newsletter is a new digital publication launched in December 2020. It follows in the footsteps of the SHS Quarterly Magazine which ran for 10 years until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Like its predecessor, it is published four times a year and includes updates of our work in the … Continued

The Seafarers Hospital Society is 200 years old today and celebrated with a virtual tea party including cake and candles. Undeterred by the Covid-19 pandemic, CEO Sandra Welch brought staff and trustees together on zoom for a cup of tea and a slice of birthday cake. “We wanted to mark the occasion and what could … Continued

The SHS is one of the world’s oldest maritime charities. Its new CEO, Sandra Welch, explains its role. The Society is best known for the Dreadnought, strictly speaking just the second of three hospital ships that, from 1821, provided medical services off Greenwich for merchant seafarers until the work ‘came ashore’ in 1870 into the … Continued