Reputation our sailors have around east (6)
I believe the answer is:
renown
'reputation' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'our sailors have around east' is the wordplay.
'our sailors' becomes 'RN' (Royal Navy).
'have' becomes 'own' (to have something is to own it).
'around' indicates putting letters inside.
'east' becomes 'e' (synonyms).
'rn'+'own'='rnown'
'rnown' placed around 'e' is 'RENOWN'.
(Other definitions for renown that I've seen before include "Fame and public acclamation" , "Fame and eminence" , "Celebrity, fame" , "High reputation, fame" , "Good reputation" .)