STILL AT SEA
STILL AT SEA, the ITF Seafarers’ Trust’s first photography competition, was launched on 25 August 2020. At a time when seafarers were trapped onboard ship, unable to go ashore for shoreleave or in many cases even to go home after months aboard, the competition invited seafarers to share their images of the highs, the lows and the spaces in between of life at sea during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The competition sought to put a human face and a visual context to the crewing crisis that continued despite the efforts of unions and elements of the shipping industry to pressure governments.
The response to the competition from seafarers was astounding. The 2,919 submitted photographs with their accompanying text form a fascinating archive of the many aspects of maritime life captured between 01 May and 30 September 2020, from engine rooms to fancy dress, from elation at the wonders of nature to despair from isolation and missing family and friends.
The judges had an extraordinarily difficult task in selecting the three prize winners from such an eclectic collection. The winning images spanned the full range from the sublime to the ridiculous - heroic, peaceful and humorous in the face of adversity.
The photos themselves were an amazing insight into the maritime world at a point where the general public were suddenly becoming aware of how much they owed to seafarers, as the impact of the pandemic on shipping was seen on empty shelves in stores and cancelled cruises and ferry travel. As well as being shared online by the Trust and ITF, images from the competition were featured in several newspapers including the Guardian and the Straits Times.
The Winners
Best photographs of life at sea during Covid-19
First place: Ike S. Dagandanan
Hero at sea
We are en route to China from Argentina, 40 days at sea, total lockdown.
We experienced bad weather which caused some of our stanchion posts to collapse. We used our best seamanship to protect the cargo, ship and environment, and most of all our prayers to almighty God for the safe voyage.
Second place: Jay Michael A.Ebueza
Secretly quiet
Amidst the pandemic, beauty exists.
Third place: Carlo deuxson Santiago
No sign off?, no problem
I was cleaning our accommodation on a Sunday morning and decided to take silly photos.
Highly commended
In addition, judges recognised three further photographs as highly commended. Ceo Angelo D. Fajardo’s image of a seafarer cadet, “Back to Work”; John Rufo M. Bontilao’s “Shower Party” depicting seafarers cleaning out a cathedral-like ship’s hold; and Mayvine Cloma’s “A Brave Woman that can make a difference” portrait of a seafarer.
The judges
Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President, World Maritime University
Rory Carnegie, Photographer
Stefan F Lindberg, Photographer
Jenn-Hui Tan, Global Head of Stewardship & Sustainable Investing, Fidelity International