Innovative social media and recruitment platform The Hood, has attracted over 10,000 users in just 12 months and is now looking to harness the power of AI, social learning and the benefits of the community marketplace to deliver more career opportunities for seafarers.

The platform is celebrating its first anniversary this month having completed the initial phase of the project and reaching its target number of users, as well as signing its tenth recruitment client on The Hood Career Hub.

The Hood has always been about people, said its founder Josephine Le. “We’ve built a space where seafarers can connect and support each other. But this is just the beginning. Next, we want to use smarter tools to open up more chances for learning and fairer recruitment across the industry.”

Today, The Hood connects seafarers from the Philippines, Myanmar, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Europe, helping to create communities worldwide. Users on the platform can join the community to find recruitment opportunities, support and connection.

Through the Career Hub, applicants and employers can communicate directly and receive live updates throughout the hiring process. This transparency helps reduce uncertainty and promotes safer, fairer recruitment, especially for smaller companies that cannot afford large tracking systems.

Members say the platform encourages an unusually open mix of voices, with cadets, deck officers, Masters and Chief Engineers  all sharing space in the same conversations. Younger seafarers often receive answers from senior crew in real time, turning what was once private discussion into shared learning and real connection.

“As the platform continues to grow, it aims to support the next generation through closer collaboration with academies and cadetship programmes,” concluded Josephine.