24/11/2023
Celebrating its 202nd anniversary this year, the Seafarers Hospital Society (SHS) is one of the UK’s oldest maritime charities. Founded in 1821, the Society established the Dreadnought, a floating hospital for seafarers on the River Thames, and has been at the forefront of pioneering healthcare work, making significant contributions to the understanding of diseases such as cholera, typhoid and scurvy.
Today, SHS continues to recognise the intense physical and mental demands of working at sea and remains dedicated to maintaining the health and welfare of seafarers based in UK waters, and their families, through the provision of grants. Ensuring that seafarers have adequate access to health services is a priority for SHS, and in May 2018, they launched the SeaFit programme in conjunction with the Fishermen’s Mission and The Seafarers Charity to deliver free physical, dental and mental health checks for fishing communities across the UK.
Trinity House is proud to be working in conjunction with SHS, the SeaFit programme and community dental provider, Dentaid, whose mobile dental unit provides a fully functional surgery capable of providing urgent and emergency dental care to people who do not have their own dentist. Trinity House awarded funding earlier in the year to support the project, which will take state-of-the-art mobile health and dental services to quaysides across the UK, with events planned in Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, Scarborough, Whitby and Jersey.
In addition to the vital support these events provide, SeaFit organisers also collaborate with local health services, including GPs, Prostate Cancer UK and the British Liver Trust, and invite them to attend each event to provide additional health checks and advice.
Website: www.seahospital.org.uk
02/08/2023
Thanks to funding from Trinity House, Hull Maritime – a major heritage project in Hull – is offering 100 young people aged 16 – 25 the chance to complete a ‘Maritime Futures’ accredited training programme to those aspiring to work at sea, whether in the fishing industry or other offshore sectors.
Delivered by East Coast Maritime Training, the three-week intensive course is designed to provide trainees with a raft of training and certificates accredited by the Seafish Authority and the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency.
The accredited course provides vocational training alongside first-hand knowledge from former trawlermen, offering students a real insight into working in these industries. As well as hands-on skills, trainees also learn about all aspects of the current fishing industry, with 12 separate certificates being awarded to successful candidates.
The programme also highlights Hull’s maritime history, as well providing them with a taste of what a possible seafaring career could look like.
Councillor Mike Ross, Leader of Hull City Council, said: "Maritime Futures is all about developing the young people’s skills and those who are in search of work by offering opportunities and the qualifications needed to start a career at sea."
Hull Maritime is a locally-led, large-scale regeneration project funded by Hull City Council and The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Hull’s rich maritime story includes Hull Maritime Museum, and the North End Shipyard – home of the Dock Office Chambers and two historic ships, the Spurn Lightship and the Arctic Corsair.
For more information on Maritime Futures or Hull Maritime, visit www.maritimehull.co.uk and on Twitter and Instagram.
04/04/2023
We are thrilled to announce that Trinity House has joined with ferry operator Red Funnel to create a new joint venture as part of the Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme. As part of its charitable mandate to sponsor cadets to become qualified officers in the Merchant Navy, the Scholarship Scheme is key to ensuring that the next generation of Britain’s seafarers is world-class.
This new venture builds on a scheme that is already well-known in the cadetship sector for its variety and quality. The three-year cadetship will allow successful candidates, following Deck and Marine Engineer training pathways, to qualify as Officers of the Watch, with the added possibility of employment with Red Funnel as their careers progress.
Captain Nigel Hope, Trinity House’s Director of Maritime Training, said of the new venture:
"The joint venture partnership with Red Funnel to train Merchant Navy Cadets within the Trinity House Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme will create additional opportunities for those seeking a maritime career and the opportunity to work with a well respected and professional ferry operator."
To find out more about Trinity House’s Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme – including entry requirements, study options and applications – please visit www.trinityhouse.co.uk/mnss
30/11/2022
Trinity House is proud to be a member of the Maritime Charities Group (MCG), a coalition of 10 major maritime charities which fosters collaboration across the sector. Interestingly, the Maritime Charities Group is headed up by Commander Graham Hockley, who was Martin Atherton’s predecessor at The Corporation of Trinity House. Below we report on two recent initiatives that demonstrate the MCG ethos and show why we’re proud to be a member.
In November 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic, the MCG launched a bursary fund for UK-based seafarers who had been made redundant or lost a contract and needed help towards the cost of training to stay in the industry. Known as the MCG Redundancy and Retraining Bursary Fund, it was funded by Trinity House, the Merchant Navy Welfare Board (MNWB) and the Nautilus Slater Fund and administered by the Marine Society on their behalf.
A report of the fund, published at the beginning of November, shows that in total 105 seafarers who lost work due to Covid-19 were granted help with the cost of training, and at least half of them have subsequently secured another job within maritime.
Another example of the way in which MCG fosters collaboration is through their biennial conference which brings together representatives from inside and outside the maritime charity sector to share knowledge and ideas. Like so many other organisations, MCG was forced to cancel their 2020 conference due to Covid-19. For September 2022, the event was able to go ahead and was held at Trinity House in London.
05/08/2022
The Corporation of Trinity House was recently delighted to announce that four of its Merchant Navy Cadets will be training with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) on board their state-of-the-art polar research vessel, RRS Sir David Attenborough.
The Merchant Navy Cadets joined the vessel for the first time in May 2022 for a four-month training deployment. During their time on board, the cadets undertake a range of activities and tasks as part of completing their Merchant Navy Training Board Training Record Books, including vessel familiarisation, maintenance work and watchkeeping duties.
Captain Will Whatley, Master of RRS Sir David Attenborough, says:
"I started my career at sea as a Trinity House Cadet myself, so it gives me great pleasure to be able to welcome this first group of cadets aboard our incredible new ship. This trip will give the cadets a fantastic experience as this ship has so many interesting features. I look forward to having Trinity House cadets on board RRS Sir David Attenborough for many years to come."
To help celebrate HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, Trinity House thanked Her Majesty for her exceptional service and her support for Trinity House and the wider maritime sector by lighting six gas beacons on 2nd June at lighthouses around England and Wales: Bardsey, Flamborough Head, Longstone, Portland Bill, South Stack and St Catherine’s lighthouses.
17/12/2021
The Trinity House Maritime Charity, which is committed to the education, support and welfare of mariners and their dependants, is the UK’s largest endowed maritime charity. The charity’s work is all made possible through the Trinity House Estate and the rental income from the properties.
Recently, Trinity House supported 75 students from London schools in a unique opportunity to experience the first STEM Crew Maritime Roadshow of 2021. This is a national programme run by the charity 1851 that delivers positive, long-term impacts on young women’s education and career aspirations, all inspired by Maritime and STEM.
The Woman in STEM Networks campaign has reported that women make up just 24% of the STEM workforce; furthermore, the Maritime Skills Alliance state that women make up just 16% of seafarers in the UK. Education and role models have been cited as two of the most significant barriers to maritime careers for women and within schools, the gender divide is reflected through pupils’ subject choices.
The 1851 Trust Roadshows travel across the UK to introduce inspiring role models and exciting STEM education practical sessions to local schoolgirls against a backdrop of an exciting sporting and maritime context.
04/03/2021
In light of the devastating effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the merchant seafaring community, The Maritime Charities Group, together with Trinity House and the Merchant Navy Welfare Board (MNWB), have joined forces with the Marine Society to launch a bursary fund for seafarer training. The fund is aimed at seafarers who are based in the UK and are facing redundancy as a result of the virus.
This ground-breaking initiative comes from an alliance of maritime welfare charities, the maritime industry, and trade unions who have been working together to find solutions to the looming employment crisis, and its inevitable impact on the health and welfare of merchant seafarers and their families.
Each of the charity partners has an important role to play: MNWB brings its welfare expertise, Trinity House promotes maritime careers through its maritime charity, and the Marine Society brings extensive experience of running similar funding schemes together with information, advice and guidance on maritime education and training.
With the continued support of Trinity Village tenants, The Corporation of Trinity House is able to provide vital support to those in need. Now more than ever, the rental income from Trinity Village offers a lifeline to communities whose livelihoods are materially threatened by the pandemic.
22/10/2020
AHOY offers opportunities and training for disadvantaged, at risk and vulnerable young people. Via the funds collected through Trinity Village rents, and other corporate initiatives, the Corporation of Trinity House is able to support AHOY, who use the medium of sailing, rowing and water-based activities to provide innovative training – teaching transferable and employable skills and at the same time building self-confidence and self- esteem.
Working with hundreds of young people every year helping them to change their lives, AHOY know that hands-on practical training with tangible outcomes
gets results, as the learning is relevant to them and rooted in the real world. Over the years, AHOY have received the continued support of Trinity House, without which the charity would struggle to continue to offer the fantastic level of training they currently do .
This year, the funding provided has helped cover maintenance costs, to ensure that their essential equipment is kept in good working condition. Without this support it will be difficult to deliver the training and activities provided by AHOY.
In response to Covid-19, Trinity House Maritime Charity (THMC) worked closely with its maritime charity partners to support seafarers and their dependants in response to the acute need thrust upon them by the often devastating effects of the pandemic on their livelihoods. Alongside its normal grants programme, the Charity responded quickly to provide additional critical support.
The fishing community has been impacted greatly, and the Charity’s emergency grant to the Fishermen’s Mission has enabled them to award hardship grants to fishermen and their families who have lost their income and struggled to put food on the table.
As well as fishing communities, THMC has provided grants to The Mission to Seafarers, who offer support to seafarers who were unable to leave their ships due to the virus, and had their welfare provisions suspended. THMC has also supported The Sailors Children's Society in offering vital support to vulnerable families from the Royal Navy, Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleet, as well as The Not Forgotten Association, who work to alleviate the loneliness and isolation veterans sometimes experience, and which have been exacerbated by Covid-related circumstances.
Investments held by The Corporation of Trinity House, including its properties in Trinity Village, allow the THMC to provide the vital grants to these communities in need, for which the Charity and recipients are deeply grateful.
