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IMEC launches social media campaign to highlight the work of seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic

The #ISupplyTheWorld campaign has been created to spread the message of the work seafarers are undertaking to keep the world supplied with essential food, medicines and fuel.

In partnership with the Marine Transport Workers’ Trade Union of Ukraine (MTWTU) and supported by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), The International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) has launched the #ISupplyTheWorld campaign.

The social media campaign has been created to spread the message of the work our maritime workers are undertaking during the COVID-19 pandemic, to keep the world supplied with essential food, medicines and fuel.

On the launch of the campaign, IMEC’s CEO Francesco Gargiulo said: ‘Seafaring, particularly on cargo vessels, is an invisible service industry to most. People used to take for granted being able to visit a shop or surf the web and select a range of goods from around the world, with little regard for their journey from “source to shelf”. This pandemic has made us all think a lot harder about the unsung heroes that keep those products coming in and those shelves full even at a time when panic shopping is straining supply lines. This campaign wants to highlight the important work seafarers are doing for us all and to express our thanks for their selfless efforts’.

MTWTU’s First Vice Chairman and IMO Goodwill Ambassador, Oleg Grigoryuk added: ‘In cooperation with our social partners, we find it crucial to show the global maritime transport workers, who are at the forefront of the epidemic in terms of global trade, how greatly the international communities appreciate their labour and how important their job is for every each city, each family and each person in the world. For us this is another way to convey our solidarity, support and deepest respect to the key workers of the globe’.

This is a campaign everybody can get involved with. Maritime workers are encouraged to photograph themselves with a printed campaign poster and post on social media with the hashtag #ISupplyTheWorld. If you see a post with this hashtag, please give it a like to support our maritime workers at this critical time.

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