Seafarers are responsible for transporting 90% of the world's goods, including the energy and food on which we all rely. 

Never was their role more vital than during Covid-19 lockdowns. But for those delivering these necessities, the lockdowns meant they frequently couldn't leave ships at port, or fly home to their families because most countries around the world refused to classify them as key workers and create safe travel corridors. 

Many of them are still trapped on ships, unable to get home because of the world's patchwork of vaccine requirements for international travel. Many countries will not even give crew a vaccine.

And now, as listeners to The Loadstar Podcast which I produce and present will know, many are stuck in the Black Sea where their lives are under threat due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

So I'll be walking 200 miles (and climbing over 9,000 metres/30,000ft which I hadn't been banking on - that's higher than Mount Everest and 8-9 x Mount Snowdon!!!!:)) with my good friend Norman Long to raise money for these deserving and hardy souls who are the real heroes of the pandemic. We'll be hiking 'sea to sea' along the historic Offa's Dyke path from the Severn Estuary in south Wales to the Irish Sea coast in north Wales over ten days in early June.

The International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) is not the designated charity by chance. I asked around some of my most trusted shipping contacts before approaching them. They are the best out there.

In 2021, ISWAN assisted almost 12,000 seafarers and their families via direct grants totalling over $140,000. Direct payments are the most effective way of helping those in dire straits when they need assistance most.

Funds will also go towards the Ukraine Crisis Support Fund which gives small grants to seafarers and their families of any nationality who have been impacted by the Ukraine crisis and need immediate and urgent financial support. 

The Fund was launched in March 2022 and provides one-time financial grants of up to US$500 to seafarers and their families in need of help with expenses including medical bills, living costs, or emergency travel. It can also provide compensation of up to US$1,000 to next of kin if a seafarer has died as a direct consequence of the Ukraine crisis.

Your contributions will also help support ISWAN's fantastic helplines which provide support and assistance to seafarers and their families of any nationality, anywhere in the world. The helpline team speak a number of languages and and the helpline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a week.

It's a great charity. Any help you can give however small will go to a good cause. 

Thanks in advance,

Mike King