Current conservative estimates put the number of seafarers stranded on board ships between 300,000. COVID-19 restrictions have meant that many ports' ship operators are unwilling or unable to allow crew to come ashore, resulting in an ever-increasing numbers of crew overdue for relief but unable to be repatriated.

In this episode, IHRB's Francesca Fairbairn speaks to Jacqueline Smith, Maritime Coordinator at the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF). Their conversation covers the urgent need for governments to address the seafarers’ humanitarian crisis, and for companies - be they cargo owners, charterers, or ship owners and operators themselves – to use their leverage to ensure this vast, vital, but often invisible workforce is protected, prioritised, and given safe passage home.