• ICS Director of Employment Affairs, Natalie Shaw, receives MBE from Princess Royal during investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.
• MBE awarded ‘for services to seafarers during the Covid-19 pandemic’.
• Award is the culmination of nearly two decades of dedicated service within global shipping.

16 Nov 2022, London: Natalie Shaw, Director of Employment Affairs at the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), received her MBE from the Princess Royal during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday 8 November.

In January 2022, it was announced that Natalie was being awarded the MBE ‘for services to seafarers during the Covid-19 pandemic’. As one of the most respected and esteemed members of the maritime sector, this award recognises Shaw’s contribution to the shipping industry. In particular Shaw’s monumental efforts in driving the global repatriation of stranded seafarers and ensuring that shipping could continue to operate safely during the pandemic.

Shaw’s award is the culmination of nearly two decades of dedicated service within global shipping. Shaw has consistently championed the welfare of the world’s 1.89 million seafarers.

Highlights from Shaw’s career include her instrumental role in the development and adoption of the International Labour Organisation’s Maritime Labour Convention in 2006. As one of the world’s truly global employment conventions, it gives seafarers the right to decent pay and working conditions.

In addition to her work during the pandemic, Shaw has acted as the shipowner coordinator on issues such as the ILO minimum wage, crew claims and abandonment, fair treatment, piracy, and seafarer medical issues. Most recently, Shaw has worked to ensure that the welfare of seafarers trapped in ports in Ukraine remains a priority.

Natalie Shaw, on receiving her MBE, said:

“I feel incredibly honoured to receive the MBE for services to seafarers during the Covid-19 pandemic. I extend my gratitude to colleagues from across the industry too. It is thanks to collaboration with each other that we have managed to navigate the crew change crisis, get seafarers rightly identified as key workers, and rollout vaccination programmes for our seafarer workforce.

“As we move forwards we must continue to keep seafarers at the heart of our work, as their welfare is of the utmost importance.

Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping added:

“On behalf of the secretariat and the membership of the ICS I congratulate Natalie on this fantastic and well-deserved achievement. Thanks to Natalie’s work and her dedication to seafarer welfare and safety, there have been real-life changes to the way seafarers are treated. This MBE reflects not just Natalie’s work during the pandemic, but also her contributions made to the maritime sector over the past two decades.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Please credit ‘Palace Photos Investiture Photography/Natalie Shaw MBE’ when using the accompanying image of Natalie Shaw MBE