Global maritime leaders gather at Tristar Conference to enhance seafarer safety

The city this week played host to the latest edition of the Tristar Safety at Sea conference, bringing together maritime industry leaders, seafarers, and safety experts from across the globe. The event, livestreamed to enable worldwide participation, focused on enhancing the mental and physical well-being of seafarers and raising safety standards in shipping operations.

“There are many forums around the world, but the Tristar Safety at Sea is the only major conference that is focused on the important area of safety in shipping, and it leads the shipping industry across the globe,” said Dr. Grahaeme Henderson OBE, president of the conference, and the chair of Together in Safety, an NGO furthering the cause of safety at sea.

“It is also unique in that it facilitates direct dialog between seafarers from ships in transit in the ocean and road locations, and the people who are also responsible for their safety and wellbeing.”

The conference, which is livestreamed to allow seafarers around the world to participate, is the brainchild of Eugene Mayne, founder and CEO of the Tristar Group, and was begun in 2019, following the tragic passing of two of their crew members.

“The aim was to make public and draw attention to a taboo subject, which is death due to suicide at sea. We wanted to raise awareness of the stress and distress that is inherent in professional seafaring,” said Mayne, during his welcome address. “What started off as a tribute to the memory of two of our own crew members who lost their lives at sea has now developed into a wider forum within the maritime community.”

He went on to speak passionately to the listening seafarers on the significance of the engineering concept of the ‘margin of safety’ – the excess capacity of a system to withstand unexpected stress without failure – to the maritime industry.

“For professional seafarers, this margin is deeply personal – it represents the difference between an ordinary day at work and a life changing phone call,” he said.

“The maritime margin of safety is not achieved in a single heroic moment. It is the mindset of vigilance and responsibility from every person on board. Every time you choose to do it the right way, and not just the fast or easy way, you add another layer to the margin. You are saying, I matter. Everyone on board matters. The people waiting for us at home matter.”

Satish Kumar Sivan, Consul General of India, who attended the conference, commended Mayne and the Tristar Group for their foresight in creating this forum in the light of catastrophic events such as the global pandemic.

“During Covid, I remember a lot of Indian seafarers got stranded in high seas across the world, and we heard heart wrenching stories of them being stranded for six to 12 months, and the kind of stress and mental health issues that they had to face,” he said.

“I think it's very, very important that all the stakeholders in the system pay attention to these issues, and I'm sure this conference has contributed immensely to those conversations over the past seven years.”

He then reached back into history to trace the importance of the maritime partnership between India and the UAE in the development of bilateral trade, and stressed that the strength of such partnerships rested on the wellbeing of the seafarers operating the vessels.

“I would like to remind you that the story of India and the UAE has always been linked by the sea. For centuries, our people have navigated the same waters, trading goods, sharing ideas and building enduring relationships. Today, those historic ties have evolved into one of the world's most dynamic and forward-looking partnerships,” he said, noting that bilateral trade exceeded $100 billion in 2024-25.

“The men and women who work at sea are the living bridge between our nations. They are the ones who keep our trade flowing, who endure long months away from home to ensure that global supply chains remain intact.”

His sentiments were echoed by Shehab Al Rahma, managing director, Oil Terminal, Commercial at DP World, who was also in attendance.

“In the beginning, we relied on commodity trading with India and on pearl diving from our dhows. The main responsibility of the captain of the ship – we called him nakhuda – was to ensure that whoever was on board was safe when they went for months long journeys on the seas. Today, we try to continue that legacy,” he said.

“We have established the Jebel Ali International Seafarers Centre, where we receive more than 150,000 seafarers every year and make sure that they get support for their mental health and safety. We also coordinate with charity organizations and companies to develop these facilities further as a token of our appreciation for seafarers.”

The conference included two panels of industry experts discussing key strategic areas for maritime safety such as leadership and incident prevention, as well as a high-energy, interactive session with crew members participating via livestream on well-being and care conducted by Anna Myrilla, co-founder and advisor of Learning Seaman, and Stella Kiss, general manager and clinical psychologist of Mental Health Support Solutions.

“The theme of this year's conference is Get Safety Right, Get Everything Right,” said Hendersen. “What is meant by this is that a great safety performance leads to a great business performance. Safety is about people, our employees, who are the lifeblood of our companies. Getting our safety programs right is vital to the future success of any shipping company, and enables the sustainability of the shipping industry.”