Crew Welfare
Lifeblood of the industry
Hard-working and happy seafarers are integral to the smooth-running of a ship. At Idwal, many of our team have worked at sea and our surveyors speak to seafarers every day whilst conducting inspections. Idwal supports seafarers as the lifeblood of the industry and we are engaged in several industry initiatives to raise understanding of some of the issues facing crew whilst assisting ourselves where we can.

Social Impact Scoring
Building on this unique dataset, we've developed a comprehensive Social Impact Score to objectively evaluate the social welfare standards across the maritime industry. This assessment covers 10 key pillars of seafarer wellbeing, from connectivity and recreation to admin and training, and is brought together in this Social Impact Report.
Idwal's Social Impact Report shares the social welfare findings from our vessel inspections, highlighting both positive practices and areas that require improvement. By shining a light on these critical social issues, our aim is to drive tangible progress in valuing seafarers as true partners in the industry's sustainable development.
Reports that assess wellbeing
As key sponsors to the Seafarer's Happiness Index, we believe that our own products and initiatives should also focus on the welfare of the crew by providing meaningful insights into the wellbeing and health of seafarers to owners and managers.
That's why our inspection framework and surveyors report on living conditions, lifesaving equipment, safe working practices, and more, whilst also ensuring managers have the information they need to keep the vessel a safe working environment for the world's seafarers.

Crew issues we're discussing right now
Using proprietary algorithms, the Idwal Grade is calculated from over 500 individual data points, captured during a standardised inspection process. It is represented as a number between 1 and 100 for easy visualisation of the integrity of the vessel.
Seafarer's Happiness Index
Simple to understand regardless of your technical or operational experience, the Idwal Grade enables easy visualisation and straightforward comparisons of assets.
Webinar: crew welfare
Our data-driven methodology ensures that our reports are accurate, free from bias and

Benchmarking
The Idwal Grade is an excellent benchmark against which operational and financial decisions can be made with confidence.
For any industry
Curabitur molestie leo in sagittis tempus. Curabitur facilisis blandit semus. Vestibulum uter io.
The Neptune Declaration
The Covid-19 pandemic created an unprecedented crew change crisis which has led to hundreds of thousands of seafarers being impacted and in many instances left stranded on ships, beyond the expiry of their contracts. This is not an acceptable way to treat seafarers and we commit to take action to resolve the crew change crisis, based on our position and role in the value chain.
Idwal are committed members of the Neptune Declaration and through a number of internal working groups work towards assisting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Idwal's former seafarers
At the very heart of Idwal lies a wealth of seafaring experience that spans from deck to engine. Our former seafarers collectively have over 150 years of experience and use that knowledge to ensure that your inspection reports are consistent, reliable, and accurate.
John Nicholson
Head of Technical
Capt. Robert Parker-Norman
Head of Surveyor Management
Thom Herbert
Senior Marine Surveyor & Crew Welfare Advocate
Stephen Grist
Senior Marine Surveyor
Tomas Owen
Marine Surveyor
Hallam Bourton
Assistant Marine Surveyor
Iain Aspenell
Assistant Marine Surveyor
Laura Horswill
Technical Assistant
Hallam Bourton
Assistant Marine Surveyor
Our work in the community
Idwal works on a number of initiatives with multiple charities to help improve the life of crew and the health of our oceans. A small selection of our current initiatives can be found below.
Mission to Seafarers
Idwal is a key sponsor of the Seafarer's Happiness Index, an initiative ran by the Mission to Seafarers that acts as a barometer of crew wellbeing. The Seafarers’ Happiness Index was founded in 2015 and is designed to monitor seafarer satisfaction levels by asking crew ten key questions. Results are reviewed each quarter and made into a report.
Careers at Sea
Idwal's former seafarers, surveyors, and technical team work with Careers at Sea to help shed light on what it is like to sail under the Merchant Navy flag. Through webinars, seminars, video interviews and more, our team hope to lead the next generation of seafarers to their first voyage.
Local River Trusts
Idwal works with multiple local river trusts in the area to keep the ports, beaches, and rivers of South Wales clean of detritus. The more we do to help clean our local waterways and prevent waste reaching the ocean, the quicker our seas can recover.