Union scoops a clutch of best membership association and website awards

Seafaring would be a 'much bleaker place' without Nautilus fighting for crew rights, a judging panel decided in awarding the Union overall Best Association at the Association Excellence Awards 2018.

The judging panel concluded: 'Nautilus had produced an outstanding set of achievements for members in the face of some really difficult external challenges. Showing that the world of maritime professionals would be a much bleaker place if Nautilus was not fighting for its members.'

The Union's entry focused on the achievements from its Charter for Jobs campaign - which has resulted in a House of Commons debate and a Parliamentary review described by the Shipping Minister as a 'strong case' for the industry. It has also helped to secure national minimum wage pay for foreign seafarers working on freight ferries serving the Scottish Northern Isles, who had been paid as little as £3.22 an hour. More recently, the Union secured £440,000 unpaid wages for workers onboard an abandoned superyacht in Malta.

The Union was commended for its communications campaigns, which covered the creation of animations, videos, GIFs and postcards to maximise engagement with members, politicians and industry alike - these were spearheaded by Nautilus's marketing and communications agency, Acceleris.

Nautilus also won silver for the recent redesign of its website. On this, the judges commented: 'Nautilus's new website allows seafarers to access information internationally, no matter if they're in Southampton, or the South China Sea. In keeping members connected to the Union - especially given a substantial number of the Union's members work at sea - the website serves as a lifeline, helping to alleviate feelings of isolation and providing valuable information for those who require assistance whilst working away from home.'

The Union's head of strategy, Debbie Cavaldoro commented: 'We're really proud that the industry issues and challenges that we've been working hard to overcome over the past few years have not only improved our members' working lives, but for thousands of seafarers internationally too.

'Despite this, there remains the requirement for an awful lot of campaigning and lobbying to ensure the quality of work seafarers experience offshore is equal to their onshore counterparts. As well as campaigning for today's seafarers, we're also looking ahead to the future of the industry, covering automation and crew communication concerns to ensure the Union strives to protect the nation's maritime resilience and our seafarers which we depend so much upon.'

Nautilus was also nominated for a separate award - the First Sea Lord's best use of digital media in the Maritime Media Awards 2018 organised by the Maritime Foundation. 

•  full press release on the Association Excellence award