Seafarer Welfare Centre to be set up in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: The outcome of an international conference on Seafarer Welfare in Chennai, India recently has resulted in a Seafarer Welfare Centre complete with health, recreational, communication and counselling facilities to be set up in Sri Lanka shortly. The centre will help in a big way in the welfare of seafarers and their families in the island according to the Ministry of Ports and Aviation.

The statement on the Seafarer Welfare Centre: Consequent to an international conference on Seafarer Welfare in Chennai, India, the International Committee on Seafarer Welfare (ICSW) has pledged support to Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to upgrade current facilities and establish up to date welfare centers for those who have chosen the sea as a career in and around major ports in South Asia.

In view of this initiative there has been a regional committee appointed to look into areas where welfare issues of seafarers need to be addressed. The first regional conference to look in to the available welfare measures and to discuss and arrive at a conclusion on how such welfare measures could be improved is being conducted in Colombo from today May 31 to June 1.

The object of this meeting is to gather all parties involved in providing welfare measures to seafarers in Sri Lanka to interact with those in the region and arrive at a decision on how seafarer welfare measures could be improved in general and what each country in the region would require to meet with internationally accepted Seafarer welfare measures.

It is expected that all organisations representing Seafarer Unions, Religious Organisations involved in Seafarer Welfare, Representatives of Ship Owners, Ship management Companies, and relevant officials of the Ministry of Ports & Shipping would actively participate at this meeting to arrive at a common consensus on how Sri Lanka could improve welfare measures of Sri Lankan Seafarers as well as visiting foreign Seafarers to Sri Lanka.

A seafarer welfare Centre complete with Health, Recreational, Communication and counselling facilities is expected to be established to provide for the welfare of seafarers and their families in Sri Lanka shortly.