Merchant Navy Welfare Board

The Merchant Navy Welfare Board (MNWB) is a registered charity located in Southampton, England, that acts as the welfare umbrella for the United Kingdom Merchant Navy and fishing fleet charity sector. Its mission is "Improving the lives of seafarers and fishers by raising welfare standards in collaboration with our stakeholders".

MNWB's key objectives are to:

  • Help improve the effectiveness of all those charities caring for merchant seafarers, fishermen and their dependants and this is done irrespective of nationality, religion or ethnic background.
  • Strive to ensure that all welfare needs are met through the most effective deployment of resources.
  • Facilitate the work of Constituent organisations through the provision of grants and specialist support services.
  • Provide a dedicated welfare support and referral service for UK seafarers and their dependants.
  • Manage and support Port Welfare Committees to develop local welfare services.
  • Encourage and enable closer collaboration amongst both Constituent organisations and Port Welfare Committees.
  • Represent and raise awareness of seafarers' welfare issues at national level.

In May 2021, MNWB was appointed as the UK's National Seafarers' Welfare Board by the UK Government although it has been fulfilling this role since its foundation in 1948. It has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency setting out the objectives of this role. The benefits of National Seafarers' Welfare Boards and Port Welfare Committees are enshrined within the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention 2006, Regulation 4.4. The Board is the world's oldest established Seafarers' Welfare Board and the ILO has used it as a template for the appropriate parts of this Convention. Today the Board has over 40 member organisations subscribing to its Constitution, with which it works in close collaboration to provide support services. There are also fifteen Port Welfare Committees (PWCs) within the UK with another in Gibraltar. The PWCs are strategic partnerships dealing with local seafarers' welfare issues, needs, projects and grant funding. Membership is open to all organisations directly concerned with the welfare of seafarers.

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