Seafarers International Relief Fund

The Seafarers International Relief Fund (SIRF) has been established to create a central fund to respond to the increasing and desperate needs of seafarers resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. It has recently launched a new fundraising campaign to support seafarers and their families impacted by the crisis in Ukraine.

Seafarers have been the invisible victims of COVID-19, with hundreds of thousands of crew suffering emotional and psychological hardship due to travel restrictions imposed by governments around the world.

Despite suggestions that the crew change crisis was near its end, the escalation of COVID-19 cases in India to more than 400,000 per day has prompted some major ports to prohibit ship crew changes for seafarers with recent travel history to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

The Fund’s initial focus will be to assist Indian seafarers and their families, but it will also help seafarers across the world. In response, the Seafarers International Relief Fund has set an initial target of US $1 million.

The Relief Fund is being coordinated by the Seafarers’ Charity, a grant funder, and is supported by the maritime charities working alongside industry players. Funds raised will be distributed via the supporting charities: The Mission to Seafarers, ISWAN, Sailors’ Society, and Stella Maris.

Donations can be made by bank transfer and details can be found here.

Donations can also be made online here.

To stay up to date with information about SIRF follow on Twitter @SIRFund