Nautilus shines light on seafaring Santa's little helpers who deliver Christmas worldwide

Nautilus International is shining a light on our reliance on seafarers over the festive period with the launch of its new '12 Days of Christmas' campaign.

The Union's video campaign will showcase a new festive item each day that is brought to us by seafarers, in a countdown to Christmas.

With 90% of Christmas as we know it coming into the UK country by sea, the campaign aims to recognise the huge contribution of seafarers, who deliver just about everything we need for the festive season.

Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said: 'Christmas is coming – and it's being brought to us by seafarers.

'It is often surprising when people realise that so much of trade is moved by sea and as such, requires the often-underappreciated work of the maritime professionals who facilitate this.

'It is a simple fact that without seafarers – working in often challenging conditions and spending significant periods of time away from home – we wouldn't have Christmas as we know it.

'At this time of year especially, we must recognise and celebrate the commitment and hard work of our maritime professionals and wish them a Merry Christmas wherever they are in the world.'

Panettone from Italy, toys from China, decorations, presents, and the ingredients for much of the traditional Christmas dinner are all delivered by seafarers, some travelling as far as 30,000 miles by sea before reaching our supermarket shelves.

The UK relies on the maritime industry and seafarers all year round, not just at Christmas, with the sector supporting £40 billion in business turnover and 185,700 jobs. Despite the UK's reliance on the industry, the number of seafarers active in the UK has fallen by 75 per cent since 1975.

Follow the campaign on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.