Did Day of the Seafarer miss the mark?

Some thoughts on maritime celebrations

Held under the theme of “My Harassment Free Ship” I was also left pondering the state of humanity that has to remind itself that it’s a good idea to be respectful to fellow human beings in any context.

Launched in 2010 to acknowledge the world’s reliance on ship-based trade and by extension our reliance on those men and women who willingly go to sea – the International Day of the Seafarer should be a day to celebrate those who have pursued a sea-going career.

I am not so sure that the Cape Town event did this. I think it may have been slightly too schizophrenic in its ambitions by trying to simultaneously attract learners to the profession; thank existing seafarers for their service as well as laud the policy and legislative interventions being made by the maritime authority and ministry in charge of transport.

While all of these ambitions are admirable, they simply cannot be delivered in one function to a diverse audience that requires significantly different messages.

To include a large contingent of learners from several schools across Cape Town was a mistake in my opinion. Instead of being able to showcase the opportunities of a career at sea in a well-considered manner – the event exposed these teenagers to the overarching message that bullying and harassment is the predominant experience on board vessels.

And, while it is important to understand the reality of the onboard environment before going to sea, I simply cannot see how this event was an appropriate tool to promote maritime awareness to school goers. There are many events already on our calendar that are more suited and specifically curated to encourage future participation in the maritime industry through career days and exhibitions.  

In addition, it was not surprising to see the vast majority of the learners actively fixated on their screens or nodding off during the programme that even had many of the adults in the audience staring off into space or accessing their mobile devices.

That the panel discussion included only one seafarer was also disappointing and I could not help remembering an event held to mark the day some years back that bravely sought to allow seafarers to publicly air their frustrations without fear of reprisals.

But this year, we heard the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and the Department of Transport (DoT) express praiseworthy sentiments about dignity, respect and the need for ships that are free of harassment alongside pronouncements about the need to be able to report incidents as well as resolve incidents.

However, we heard little to nothing about how the new STCW training requirements to combat bullying will be included in local curriculum as required by 1 January next year. Neither did they quantify the extent of the problem on locally flagged vessels or amongst South African seafarers.

Ideally events hosted on the Day of the Seafarer – irrespective of the theme attached – should be more focused around delivery than platitudes. These events should provide seafarers with the opportunity to network, be heard and engage as the experts on their lived experience.

With so many maritime-related international days to celebrate, it is easy for each one to become a tick box exercise on our calendars where we unable to purposefully appreciate the flavour of each. I would contend that our almost pathological need to “prove” via social media that we were doing something “relevant” on each of these days severely limits our ability to show due deference to the real cause that each of these days represent.

Let’s take a long hard look at the format of the maritime events that are crowding our calendars and seeking sponsorship as well as participation. It’s not just about the way we commemorate these international days, but also about the seminars, workshops, conferences, discussions and exhibitions that are presented as solutions, but end up being little more than talk shops with a price tag.

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