All Aboard Alliance launches new strategy and industry ambitions for improving lives at sea

• The Alliance’s 2026-2030 strategy and ambitions aim to make at-sea careers in the maritime industry more safe, attractive, and inclusive. 

• By 2030, the Alliance aims to track annual progress and building transparency, showcase what good looks like by defining better standards for living and working at sea, and align financial incentives towards industry adoption of those standards.  

• The strategy centres around four goals: safe working conditions, improved physical and mental health, inclusion and diversity, and flexible and attractive careers. 

22 October 2025, Antwerp – The All Aboard Alliance, a community of companies and organisations focused on advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the maritime industry, has published its new 2026-2030 strategy, providing a much-needed framework for the maritime industry to improve lives at sea.  

Launched today at the Global Maritime Forum Summit 2025, the new strategy is built around four strategic goals for the industry: safe working conditions, improved physical and mental health, inclusion and diversity, and flexible and attractive careers.   

“Seafarers are at the heart of global trade, and ensuring their well-being is essential and urgent to the industry’s long-term success,” says Mikael Skov, Co-Chair and CEO of Hafnia. “This strategy offers a shared framework for strengthening what already works well in our sector, while addressing the areas where progress is still needed. By working together across companies, unions, and industry bodies, we can ensure that a career at sea remains both safe and rewarding, and that our industry continues to thrive.” 

Systemic change is needed 

While living and working standards on land have improved over time, conditions for seafarers have not followed suit – and with 75% of crew effectively working freelance on short-term contracts¹, the accountability for their working conditions and overall welfare has become blurred.  

Seafarers work an average of 11.5 hours per day, with nearly 80% reporting no rest days at all during their contract² and 25% reporting not having any shore leave.³ It’s therefore no surprise that 28% report chronic sleep deprivation⁴,  which can lead to accidents at sea.  

On top of this, many seafarers experience high levels of verbal abuse (70-82%), physical abuse (13-28%), and sexual harassment (6-15%)⁵, which has likely contributed to the growing mental health crisis at sea. In 2024, suicides made up 6.5% of seafarer deaths, which is more than four times the global rate of 1.5%.⁶  

While these figures are concerning from a humanitarian point of view, they should also set off the industry’s alarm bells from a strategic perspective. Competition with onshore jobs is intensifying, meaning there is a risk of not having enough qualified officers to guide shipping into a digital and decarbonised future. At the same time, society’s expectations are shifting – workplaces are increasingly judged not only by their environmental footprint but also by how they treat their people.  

“The conditions many seafarers face today stem from decades of pressure on shipping companies, from regulatory requirements and cost competition to deeply rooted labour practices,” says Alliance Co-Chair and Circle DV CEO Meei Wong. “It is time for the industry to turn awareness into action to ensure that every effort to strengthen the sector also helps attract and retain skilled seafarers and reflects genuine care for the people who keep global trade moving.” 

A framework for collective action and accountability 

Mirroring the success of similar transparency frameworks in the decarbonisation space, like the Poseidon Principles, the new All Aboard Alliance strategy is designed to provide a roadmap for ambitious leaders across the maritime value chain to test new approaches, share solutions, and hold one another accountable for progress. 

The strategy’s four goals are broken down into ten focus areas, each of which then has at least three defined conditions for success. Together, these goals, focus areas, and conditions for success form a matrix of action and a comprehensive framework to guide annual progress tracking.  By 2030, the Alliance aims to take the following actions to catalyse this industry-wide system change: 

1. Track annual progress and build transparency. The first progress report will be published in 2026, establishing a clear picture of current conditions across the four strategic areas.  

2. Define and showcase what good looks like. Across the Alliance and the wider maritime value chain, global standards will be co-created for what good, better, and best look like in each area – standards that are clear, easy to communicate, and verifiable by independent third parties.  

3. Align financial incentives. The Alliance will work with partners across the value chain to link financial and operational incentives directly to the implementation of these standards.  

“With this new strategy underpinning our work, the All Aboard Alliance community can begin addressing the deep-rooted, systemic challenges facing seafarers,” says Global Maritime Forum Director of Human Sustainability Susanne Justesen. “It will require us to question these entrenched structures, ask hard questions, and confront uncomfortable truths – and it’s something none of us can do alone. We invite companies to join us in working towards a future where seafarers are at the heart of every voyage.”  

The four goals and their ten focus areas are outlined below. See the full strategy for the list of conditions for success under each focus area. 

1. Safe working conditions 

   1. Reducing fatigue 

   2. Feeling safe from abuse and misconduct 

2. Improved physical & mental health 

   1. Medical care 

   2. Healthy living 

   3. Social life 

3. Inclusion & diversity 

   1. Inclusive leadership 

   2. Crew & leadership diversity 

   3. Inclusive physical conditions 

4. Flexible & attractive careers 

   1. Family-friendly employment 

   2. Upskilling & transparent career paths

Media contact: Nicole Schlichting, (Interim) Senior Communications Manager – PR & Media 

M: +45 31 26 19 25 

E: nsc@globalmaritimeforum.org