Veteran shipping journalist to hike 200 miles ‘Sea-to-Sea’ to raise funds for seafarers

The creator and host of The Loadstar Podcast, and contributor to multiple shipping and logistics publications over the last 20+ years, Mike will walk the historic 'Offa's Dyke', from the Severn Estuary in South Wales to the Irish Sea coast in north Wales.

Starting this June, the trek will take over ten days to complete.

 He will be walking on behalf of UK-based charity the International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN), which has assisted almost 12,000 seafarers and their families and awarded direct grants totalling over $140,000.

Mike was motivated to raise money for seafarers after seeing them treated so poorly during the COVID-19 pandemic when so many were stuck on ships for so long.

'I thought the treatment of these crews was abhorrent to be absolutely honest,' he said. 'So many were stuck onboard ships for longer than a year and, really, hardly anybody outside the industry cared. Then they couldn’t get vaccines so they still couldn’t return home. It’s a disgrace when these are the people who transport all the energy and food on which we all rely. And all the luxuries we don’t really need but ordered anyway during lockdowns.

'And now we’ve got the war in Ukraine which has trapped hundreds more seafarers in the Black Sea. Again, they are the forgotten victims,' he said. 'I’m hoping some of the ship owners and managers or other people in the logistics world I’ve interviewed over the years might help support this fundraiser.'