An international safety charity is calling on maritime organisations, community groups, NGOs and training institutions in Ghana to apply for Maritime Connected, a newly launched global grant programme designed to strengthen safety across the maritime sector.
Maritime Connected is designed to strengthen safety across the maritime sector by funding projects which can identify and help plug potential safety gaps. It was developed by Lloyd’s Register Foundation after it was realised that, because often projects tackling similar issues operate separately, vital insights can be missed, which could lead to unintended and potentially serious consequences.
By connecting organisations and using local expertise, Maritime Connected aims to create a network where safety challenges are shared and solutions co-created. Lloyd’s Register Foundation is looking to fund projects that address safety challenges relating to decarbonisation, digitalisation, the impacts of climate and safety at sea.
It will enable a better understanding of current and future maritime challenges while providing insights and interventions that keep people safer. Africa, along with the rest of the world, also faces the dual pressures of contributing to and being disproportionately affected by the world’s most urgent maritime challenges. These include decarbonisation and the safe transition to new fuels, and the intensifying impacts of climate change.
Candace Bentil, programme manager at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, said: “When we connect people and roles – from engineers and operators to policymakers and researchers – we create opportunities for collaboration that wouldn’t otherwise exist.
When we integrate systems and data such as safety insights, we uncover patterns and develop solutions – this can prevent accidents before they occur. And what’s exciting is that ideas and lessons learned from Ghana and the discoveries of what works in one part of the world can strengthen safety everywhere.”
The Maritime Connected initiative funds projects that bring together data, people, systems, infrastructure, the environment, encouraging ideas to help close safety gaps across the maritime system.
The initiative supports activities such as knowledge-sharing across countries or communities, building local safety skills and cross-organisation collaboration. It also brings together voices typically underrepresented in global maritime discussions, including women, coastal communities and small maritime enterprises.
Funding ranges from £2,000 for convening activities and smaller initiatives to up to £60,000 for larger projects that bring multiple parts of the sector together to address current or emerging safety risks.
Priority is given to proposals addressing safety challenges within decarbonisation, digitalisation, climate impacts and safety at sea.
Candace Bentil added: “Too many safety solutions remain isolated or unconnected to wider systems. Across Africa, coastal communities, educators, seafarers and innovators hold deep knowledge about the realities of maritime safety, yet these insights rarely make it to the global stage. Maritime Connected aims to bridge that gap by giving representation to unheard voices and perspectives in global audiences to actively contribute to shaping global solutions.
“Maritime Connected seeks to amplify the ideas, lived experiences and innovations from these emerging regions. At Lloyd’s Register Foundation, we acknowledge that global maritime safety initiatives must be built with local leadership, not simply delivered to local communities. I’d like to encourage all local organisations, no matter how big or small, to apply without delay.”
Interested organisations with ideas to connect people, knowledge and systems to improve maritime safety are encouraged to apply to the Maritime Connected grant by 6th February.
To apply for the Maritime Connected grant, please visit https://www.lrfoundation.org.uk/maritime-connected-funding-offer.
