An exhibition featuring photos of the ITF Seafarers’ Trust’s photo archive ‘Life at Sea’ has been launched at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva during the Fifth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee established under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).
The ITF Seafarers’ Trust photography project, which began in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to highlight the crew change crisis, now boasts a collection of some 10,000 digital images and captions. Since 2020, seafarers have been invited to submit their photos in annual photo competitions. Recurrent themes of isolation, camaraderie, exhaustion, professionalism, wonder and awe at the natural environment stand out. Collections from the archive have been shown at some 70 exhibitions in museums, international organizations and churches around the world raising awareness of the critical role of seafarers in the global economy.
The exhibition at the ILO is an opportunity to bring the unique perspective of seafarers into the space where regulation of their living and working conditions is under discussion.
Head of the Trust Katie Higginbottom said: ‘These striking images capture the emotional depths and the daily grind of work and life at sea. We are very proud to have created this archive of unfiltered seafarers’ experience to help give visibility to this critical, but unseen workforce. We hope it will bring a touch of humanity and passion to the committee’s deliberations.’
The ITF Seafarers’ Trust is enormously grateful to all the seafarers who have embraced the opportunity to share their experiences with us and help raise the profile of the men and women powering the global movement of goods and people by sea.
The exhibition will be on display at the ILO Headquarters until 5 May 2025.
