Supporting the welfare of seafarers in 2021 - Lubmarine makes a further donation to ISWAN’s ‘SeafarerHelp’ Programme. Lubmarine announces its support of the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) – ‘SeafarerHelp’ 2021 Programme with a second year donation to the organisation.
These have been difficult times for seafarers particularly around the present pandemic lock down and mobility restrictions offshore and onshore. The company is supporting ISWAN’s ‘SeafarerHelp’ 24-hour helpline. ISWAN’s, helpline is one of the direct welfare services the charity provides to seafarers.
ISWAN’s Deputy Helpline Manager, Yasmine Zhao, says: “Our helpline team is coping well during the COVID-19 crisis, despite the fact that we ourselves are under lockdown - including our regional teams in India, the Philippines, and Nigeria - and everyone is working from home,” highlights Yasmine Zhao. “As a result of the spread of the Coronavirus outbreak, we have experienced a rapid increase in the number of calls that come into our helpline.
“In April, May, June, and July 2020 numbers more than tripled in comparison to the number of contacts we received during the same period one year earlier. In order to deal with these incredibly high call volumes, we added extra shifts and extra staff on top of our normal shift patterns.
“One year on from Lubmarine’s sponsorship, our helpline colleagues continue to work extremely hard to assist seafarers and their families worldwide. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to generate much higher than average call volumes, with seafarers reaching out for support on issues such as the crew-change crisis, access to vaccinations, unemployment, abandonment, and poor mental health.”
ISWAN works to promote and support the welfare of seafarers all over the world, providing a range of support and welfare services. The charity engages with more than 10,000 seafarers a year on any number of issues, although this number has increased significantly in recent months as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Robert Joore, General Manager of Lubmarine, says: “We are very pleased to be able to extend our support to ISWAN for 2021 and its role of providing critical support for seafarers globally. Seafarers lives can be very challenging – as we mentioned in our blog in 2020, Seafarers experience long periods away from their homes, families and friends with limited or no communication. These challenges have been magnified even more during the Covid-19 pandemic last year and this year.”
Based in the UK, the ISWAN charity has a global remit and engages more than 100 different seafaring nationalities. Its latest helpline programme supports landline telephone connections but also provides advice and guidance through other means including mobile, webchat and WhatsApp.
