Katie Higginbottom

Head at ITF Seafarers’ Trust

Speaker

Katie Higginbottom is the Head of the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, the pre-eminent international maritime charity organization, established by the International Transport Workers’ Federation in 1981 to advance the welfare and wellbeing of seafarers. Since her appointment in July 2018, she has led the Trust’s response to a number of momentous events impacting the maritime sector including the Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine consolidating the Trust’s reputation as a significant and reliable force for championing the rights of seafarers.

She has recently joined the Governing Board of the IMO International Maritime Law Institute.

Prior to joining the Trust, Higginbottom worked in various positions in the ITF Seafarers’ Section and Maritime Operations department and played an active role in the ITF delegation to the ILO when the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) was adopted. She was responsible for training the ITF inspectorate on the MLC and for monitoring its practical application, most notably on the issue of abandonment, and has worked extensively with maritime unions in the Black Sea region, East and West Africa and Myanmar.