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The pandemic turned a spotlight on the often hidden problem of crew welfare. Seafarers are key workers was the phrase and now it would seem the superyacht industry is also very much engaged in the problems facing crew members.

In the second REG Superyacht Forum podcast, we pick up on issues raised in the main session around crew welfare led by members of the Red Ensign Group.

While the UK and Red Ensign Group continues to lead and aid finding solutions for decarbonisation in the merchant shipping sector, the yachting industry is more complex in which way it may go.

We've brought together three members of the REG during the Superyacht Forum in Amsterdam to discuss the issue. 

With the International Maritime Organization’s Member State mandatory audit of the REG members expected before the end of this year, the Red Ensign Group is concentrating on making sure it's ready for the event.

This week's Technical Forum has looked at the work being done by the REG to be ready for it and to ensure that the result of the audit shows the REG’s continued leadership on maritime matters.

Richard Pellew and Greg Evans, the co-chairs of the Technical Forum explore what it means for the group in this latest podcast.

From helping to get crews home to providing seafarers with a welfare app, the Red Ensign Group continues to keep driving forward care of those who work at sea.

Many of those working within the group which is made up of the 13 British Shipping Registries, have worked at sea for months on end themselves so bring a real understanding of how life can be for seafarers to their roles.

We've brought together five of those people - James Hatcher from the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry, James Robba from Gibraltar Maritime Administration, David Gooberman from the Isle of Man Ship Registry  and Richard Pellew and Ian Blair from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the UK.

If 2020 was the year that the world saw how much it relies on the work of seafarers behind the scenes, then will 2021 see more of that understanding turned into action?

As the first part of the ISWAN (International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network) Social Interaction Matters is published - a report based on research with the seafarers themselves, it once again reminds all of us the benefits of regular social interaction on board and what obstacles there are that need to be overcome.

Our latest podcast explores all these themes with input from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, ISWAN and the co-chair of the REG Conference.

It brought together maritime expertise from across the world and represents some of the highest standards in the world when it comes to the yachting industry. The Red Ensign Group Yacht Code was published early in January 2019 and continues to be the go-to document for the industry.

It's reviewed on a regular basis and we've brought together three of those whose expertise goes into the REG Yacht Code to talk about latest changes and why the Code continues to matter and dominate the maritime world.