Delivering on Seafarers’ Rights: 2025 Progress Report

Summary

Shipping is the backbone of the global economy, with seafarers transporting 90% of the world’s trade. There is an urgent need for all parts of the shipping industry to tackle the systemic challenges that impact the rights of seafarers who keep our goods moving.

The Delivering on Seafarers’ Rights 2025 Progress Report, published annually by the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) and IHRB, tracks uptake of the Delivering on Seafarers’ Rights Code of Conduct and associated tools by the shipping industry. The report highlights ongoing and new areas where action is needed from owners, operators, charterers and other industry actors to support seafarers' welfare.

The report draws on seafarer welfare data from 710 companies covering more than 13,000 vessels, alongside input from seafarers and welfare organisations. 

Key findings in the latest report include: 

• Evidence across the report reinforces the link between seafarer welfare, safety and operational resilience, with fatigue, isolation and psychological stress posing direct risks to safe shipping
• Stronger outcomes result where expectations and accountability are clear, including in safe manning and medical cover
• The findings highlight the influence of charterers and cargo owners in driving welfare outcomes when expectations are built into commercial relationships. Weaker performance happens when responsibility is fragmented, notably in onboard connectivity, family support, and recruitment-related debt
• A continuing gap exists between policy commitments and lived experience on board, underlining the need for greater alignment across the shipping value chain
• There is wide variation in welfare performance between vessels, including within the same company, underlining the limits of company-level commitments without ship-specific visibility
• Evidence from seafarers and welfare organisations shows that illegal recruitment fees remain a systemic risk, with enforcement gaps allowing exploitative practices to persist across recruitment chains
• Growing recognition of seafarer welfare as a safety, liability and risk issue, with insurers, P&I clubs and assurance providers are emerging as important leverage points in driving higher standards

Other key trends in the report include:

• Female seafarer employment increased from 49 % to 52 %
• Provision of 12 month private medical insurance ashore increased from 18 % to 23 %
• Reports of vessels without private cabin bathrooms decreased slightly from 32 % to 31 %
• Safe manning practices remain steady, with 98 % of companies exceeding minimum levels when trading conditions require it
• Access to free or reasonably priced internet declined from 32 % to 31 %
• Support services for seafarers’ families fell from 56 % to 48 %.

The report also includes a summary of the SEAFAIRER Roundtable held in Singapore in November 2025 and that of a Seafarer workshop held in in India September 2025 hosted by IHRB and Mission to Seafarers.

Background

The Delivering on Seafarers’ Rights Code of Conduct was created in 2021 by IHRB, together with the Sustainable Shipping Initiative and the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, to protect human rights and welfare of the world’s seafarers. The Code of Conduct goes beyond the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) to focus on the full spectrum of seafarers’ rights and wellbeing, from fair terms of employment and minimum crewing levels to the management of grievance mechanisms. The Code of Conduct, accompanied by a self-assessment questionnaire that is hosted on the RightShip support platform, is intended to provide a guide for shipowners and operators to improve their performance against the Code of Conduct.