Matthias Ristau is Secretary General at the German Seafarers Mission (Deutsche Seemannsmission), the global charity for seafarers based in Germany. In his position he is the executive leader of the welfare organization and responsible for the staff in 15 different countries around the world.
Matthias has been working in Projects and Communities in Brazil and Germany and is working in seafarers welfare, maritime crisis intervention and mental health since 2013.
He is trained in Critical Incident Stress Management and Pastoral Emergency Care and also in interreligious and intercultural dialogue. When being a ship visitor he met thousands of seafarers and in the position he holds now he gets feedback from his team around the world about the situation and need of seafarers. He is strongly engaged in the question of sustainability nd emphasizing that ESG criteria include the S for social, what in the shipping should be the seafarers.