International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) charity the Seafarers’ Trust has selected an image depicting solitude as the winner of its annual Life at Sea photography competition.
The winning snap, titled “Home Sick” and taken by seafarer San Ko Oo, was selected out of 1,000 entrants.
“The combination of tough tattoos and vulnerability reflect the ambiguity of seafaring — on the one hand, a hard, macho profession and, on the other hand, an environment that can be very lonely and isolated,” the Seafarers’ Trust said in announcing the winner of the £1,000 ($1,103) prize.
In contrast, the second place prize went to the photo “Cheerful Buddies” from Harold Papa Melendez. It captures the close friendship that can develop between seafarers.
Third place went to Sudhir Shukla for “The Moon”, with Shukla captioning the image as “no matter where you are in the world, the moon is never bigger than your thumb”.
The photography competition began in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and has now amassed 5,000 digital images submitted by seafarers.
“We’re excited to be expanding our digital archive of seafarers’ photography to help us raise the profile of seafarers and their vital role in global trade,” the Seafarers’ Trust said.
The judges include writer Rose George, International Chamber of Shipping secretary general Guy Platten, International Maritime Employers’ Council chair Captain Belal Ahmed and ITF maritime coordinator Jacqueline Smith.
