David Hammond

A former military seafarer, veteran Royal Marines Officer and Barrister (Counsel), David Hammond has practical maritime and legal operational experience, having served in the North and South Atlantic Oceans, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, Arabian Gulf and South China Seas. As CEO of the UK-based NGO Human Rights at Sea, he is an advocate for the ongoing international development, advocacy and drive for the explicit codification of the concept of ‘human rights at sea’ throughout the maritime environment.

Op-Ed: In 2023, We Should Enforce the Law on Human Rights at Sea

Published Jan 3, 2023 9:05 PM by David Hammond

Posted in: Government

2023 is shaping to be another challenging year for human rights defenders. These are dangerous geopolitical times for maintai...

The UK House of Lords Takes a Lead on Human Rights at Sea

Published Jul 22, 2022 1:44 PM by David Hammond

Posted in: Government

The United Kingdom’s Upper House of Parliament, the House of Lords, has been driving policy change through greater awareness...

Op-Ed: Will We Kick the Can Down the Road on World Maritime Day?

Published Sep 29, 2021 3:42 PM by David Hammond

Posted in: Government

World Maritime Day is celebrated annually on September 30, and each year has a new theme. This year it is framed as "Seafarer...

World Human Rights Day: Human Rights Must be Upheld by Law

Published Dec 9, 2020 10:25 PM by David Hammond

Posted in: Government

When Human Rights at Sea was established in April 2014, the concept of universal human rights applying at sea as equally as they d...

COVID-19: Fact Suppression or Careless Under-reporting?

Published Mar 31, 2020 7:55 PM by David Hammond

Posted in: Shipping

Human Rights at Sea CEO David Hammond shares his thoughts on recent evidence presented to the charitable NGO for what he says appe...

Ending Exploitative Recruitment Fees

Published Jan 11, 2020 5:12 PM by David Hammond

Posted in: Business

Recruitment fees and related costs charged to individuals seeking work in the commercial shipping and fishing industries are unacc...

The Need for a Human Rights at Sea Declaration with Teeth

Published Oct 9, 2019 2:43 AM by David Hammond

Posted in: Government

The recent publishing of our fifth annual Human Rights at Sea report on October 1, 2019 was another milestone in being able to pub...

Sea-Watch Captain Freed: A Victory for Humanitarian Rescue at Sea

Published Jul 8, 2019 5:51 PM by David Hammond

Posted in: Maritime

Captain Carola Rackete has now been freed, but the European political controversy continues. The judicial decision delivered a...

Human Rights at Sea Annual Review 2018

Published Dec 28, 2018 5:25 PM by David Hammond

Posted in: Maritime

Looking back over past annual reviews there is a common theme of highlighting what we can do better in addition to discussing our...

MV Liberty Prrudencia: A Gross Failure in Protecting Seafarers' Rights

Published Apr 19, 2017 6:31 AM by David Hammond

Posted in: Maritime

I have great respect for the mental and physical tenacity of the remaining 13 Indian crew of the MV Liberty Prrudencia. At the tim...

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