On Wednesday 3 June during Posidonia in Athens, BIMCO hosted a seminar focusing on seafarers. The event raised the important questions of how we can sustain, attract and protect the 2 million men and women we rely on to operate the world’s commercial fleet. Below are some reflections and issues raised by BIMCO’s President, Secretary General and the panellists. BIMCO’s President, Paul Pathy, delivered the opening address ahead of the first panel session focusing on the underlying need of securing a sustainable seafarer workforce and the second panel focusing on the challenges of protecting them. “This could hardly be more topical at a time when around 20,000 seafarers are stuck in the Persian Gulf. At times like these, it’s not only the principle of freedom of navigation that is compromised, but also the freedom of our seafarers who are prevented from going home to their families. Once again, they are paying a very high price in the middle of a conflict. Their freedom of navigation should never be negotiable,” Pathy said. BIMCO Secretary General & CEO, David Loosley rounded up the event: “Today’s discussions leave me with some confidence that we are in good hands, and it feels like the right questions are being asked. I particularly like some of the suggestions as to how we might operationalise some of this to help our seafarers and turn it into seafarer language. As Paul said right at the beginning, when shipping makes the headlines, it’s usually because something has gone wrong, and too often what gets lost behind the headlines is the human dimension; the people,” Loosley said. Fight for talent and need for upskilling The first panel session was moderated by Dr Bev Mackenzie, Head of Intergovernmental Engagement at BIMCO. Aron Frank Sørensen, BIMCO’s Chief Environment Officer, started the discussions by taking the audience through the methodologies and reasoning behind the BIMCO & ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026 which will be published on 25 June. Elpi Petraki,