At the ITF Seafarers Trust meeting in London on 11 March 2008, the Trustees agreed the following priorities for Trust funding for the coming two years. This strategy is based upon the recommendations and findings of the Cardiff University SIRC report "Port Based Welfare Facilities for Seafarers" by Dr Erol Kahveci, which was published in July 2007 and is available on the Trust website. The Trust will continue to assist current seafarers centres, but wil focus on four main areas of priority:

• To increase the provision of low cost or free telephone and email facilities for all working seafarers, both on board their ships and within the port area to help them maintain contact with their families at all times
  
  
• To ensure that in all ports where the Trust is supporting activities for Seafarers, there are maps giving details of all services they might need within the port and outside
  
  
• To provide cheap or free transport for seafarers in as many ports as possible
  
  
• To provide funds to support the start up of, and to seek a local means of support for, the above
  

The Trust will continue to provide support and assistance to existing welfare structures, but will seek to further reduce any involvement with new building projects for any but the most basic of facilities.

The full text of the document can downloaded here:

Related documents:

Trust strategy for 2008 and 2009 (32kb DOC) This document is in English only

Related pages:

Welfare Report This report is based on the findings of a research project funded by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Seafarers’ Trust. The project was started in April 2006 and finalised in March 2007.