As New Zealand prepares to commemorate Merchant Navy Day tomorrow, 3 September 2025, the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) is paying tribute to the sacrifice of merchant seafarers in times of war, while issuing a warning about our current maritime vulnerability.
Merchant Navy Day marks the anniversary of the sinking of the first Allied merchant ship in 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War.
Throughout the war, New Zealand and Allied merchant seafarers served as a vital lifeline, crewing vessels that carried troops, military equipment, and essential supplies through perilous waters.
“Tomorrow we will honour the memory of the thousands of merchant seafarers who never returned to port,” says MUNZ National Secretary Carl Findlay.
“These unsung heroes faced unimaginable dangers to keep our country and our allies supplied, and their courage and sacrifice must never be forgotten. They crewed the ships that were the backbone of the war effort.”
Mr. Findlay says that the lessons of history underscore a critical weakness in modern New Zealand’s infrastructure, the decline of its domestic coastal shipping fleet.
“New Zealand is an island nation, utterly dependent on sea freight for our economic survival. But we have allowed New Zealand-flagged and crewed ships to be pushed off our coast through bad policies and short-term greed.”
The Maritime Union is a vocal advocate for rebuilding New Zealand’s coastal shipping capacity.
“For too long, we have outsourced our own supply chain resilience. A global pandemic, an international conflict, or a trade dispute could see foreign-flagged ships redirected overnight, leaving our ports isolated, our shelves empty, and our industries crippled,” says Mr. Findlay.
MUNZ is calling for Government and industry to invest in a national strategic fleet that can guarantee the movement of essential goods, create skilled maritime jobs for New Zealanders, and build a more resilient and secure nation.
“The best way to honour the legacy of our past merchant mariners is to ensure New Zealand has a strong, sovereign maritime capability for the future. On this Merchant Navy Day, we remember their service and recommit to our struggle to secure our nation’s lifeline,” says Mr. Findlay.
