Missing Seafarers Program Expanded

The charity Human Rights at Sea has expanded its global program to record and investigate cases of missing seafarers to now include missing fishers at sea.

The flagship program, established in January 2014, originally focused only on missing seafarers.

The program’s mission is to support seafarers, fishers and their families by the registration, tracking, investigation and advocacy on behalf of those missing at sea through a secure mobile on-line platform. That platform is known as the Missing Seafarer & Fisher Register. 

The aim of the program, through the use of the Missing Seafarer & Fisher Register, is to build an accurate international database detailing the status of seafarers and fishers missing at sea on a global basis. The vision is to become the focal international database for recording missing seafarers and fishers.

CEO, David Hammond, said: “Due to the number of cases being submitted to the international database which include cases of fishers lost at sea, the charity has decided to positively respond to this trend and adapt the program accordingly.”

The program is entirely self-funded and dependent on donors and sponsors. 

Along with the register, Human Rights at Sea is working with willing families to prepare family impact statements that demonstrate the issues surrounding the loss of their loved ones. In one such statement, Maria-Katerina Naki, the sister of a 23 year old seafarer who went missing at sea in April 2015, describes how she doesn’t believe her brother committed suicide as investigators have assumed.

There are currently around 150 missing people listed on the register.

The three web addresses which all point to the updated site for the register are www.missingseafarers.org www.missingmariners.org and www.missingseamen.org.

The register is supported by Seafarers UK, Mishcon de Reya, Fishermans Mission, Sailors Society, Apostleship of the Sea, Mission to Seafarers, ICC-IMB, MPHRP, ISWAN, SeaWives, IBA and Seafarerhelp.