10 Reasons You Must Thank Seafarers

For the past thousands of years people from around the world have been sending goods through sea ways. From the clothes people wear to the food they eat, almost everything today is brought to them through ships. The shipping industry, also termed as the invisible industry by many, is crucial to the existence of the global economy, yet very few people have any idea what happens at the high seas. It is an industry which is secretive and fascinating at the same time.

But as vital as the industry is to the world and its people, equally important is the work of the brave seafarers who perform one of the toughest jobs in the world by running those massive ships through the roughest seas and riskiest areas. If it hadn’t been for them, the global trade would come to a stand still, people would be devoid of their basic necessities and some nations would find it extremely difficult to even survive.

seafarers

Seafarers are one of those neglected professionals, who have often been overlooked not only by international organizations but also by their own countries. If you make an effort to go beyond their smart uniforms and fancy travel schedules, you will be able to see the tough lifestyle they live and the hardships they endure at sea to make sure the world and its people continue to enjoy their life on shore.

Mentioned below are some of the most important reasons (among million others), for which, each and every seafarer needs to be thanked from the greatest depth our hearts.

1. Seafarers Run the Global Economy

90% of the world’s food, fuel, raw material and manufactured goods are delivered by sea. Nearly all things sold world wide are transported through ships, which need skilled seafarers to operate, maintain and repair. What would happen to the world if the ships and seafarers didn’t work? Needless to say, the word would come to a halt and the people would be devoid of their basic necessities. It is because of these skilled and brave people called seafarers that businesses around the world continue to thrive and people are able to buy the things they desire from their favorite stores. Though seafarers work in a closed fraternity, which is not visible to outsiders, their work is indispensable. It is high time they get the respect and importance that they deserve from us.

2. Seafarers Sacrifice Their Social Life

One of the biggest difficulties seafarers face in their life (not out of choice) is staying away from their loved ones while they carry out their duties at sea. Missing birthdays, family events or brother’s wedding is the price they pay to ensure that the cargo reaches people on time. There are many seafarers who have missed every single birthday celebration of their kids. Some haven’t been able to attend funerals of their loved ones. It is a tough choice they make to earn a livelihood for their families, but the pain of going away from the family doesn’t deter them from performing their duties. Someone has to do the job and seafarers are tough enough to accept this bitter fact. While people on land celebrate and socialise at every possible opportunity, seafarers continue to toil away at sea to ensure that those celebrations do not stop, even at the cost of their own happiness.

seafarer
Representation Image – Photograph by Angelbert Dungog

 

3. Seafarers Fight The Toughest Seas and Roughest Weather

Taking cargo from one port to other often involves facing ugly storms and monstrous waves. A sea isn’t as friendly as it seems when watched from shore. In spite of all the latest technological advancement, a seafarer at sea is at the mercy of nature. But what may come, the cargo has to be shipped to the scheduled location and that too on the right time. Several ships sink each year because of storms and rough weather, but that doesn’t scare a seafarer – They are born for such conditions. He is build tough and has the heart to carry on with this work as the ship rolls and pitches over huge waves. If you think working in such conditions is easy or fun, then you are highly mistaken. Not everyone can do it, and those working on land can never fathom the hardships one has to face in such environment. So while people on land work in their extremely cozy offices with ultra luxurious amenities, people at sea work through sickest and unfriendliest conditions to ensure that businesses around the world do not stop and those on land continue to enjoy their comforts.

4. Seafarers Risk Their Lives Through Piracy and War Zones

According to a report, more than 100,000 seafarers at any one time either travel or are planning to go through the dangerous piracy affected areas. Until now, several ships have been highjacked and many seafarers have been taken as hostages by pirates. They are tortured, abused, and kept in miserable conditions as prisoners. Even today, events of piracy have not stopped. Ships continue to get highjacked and seafarers are still being taken as hostages. But in spite of all the risks and fear, seafarers continue to do their duties through these dangerous areas. The “Piracy Zones” covers one of the most important sea trading routes for food, raw materials, and manufactured good. Nearly half of the world’s seaborne oil supply passes through these pirate-infested areas. Just imagine what would happen to the world economy if seafarers refuse to work in these areas? You already know the answer.

Moreover, if need be, seafarers even sail through war zones and assist navies to deliver cargo and supplies where they are required the most. Can they say no? Yes! But they never say so, they never will.

5. Seafarers Face Extreme Health Hazards

Working on ships is not easy. Visit a ship and you will know. Seafarers are prone to several specific diseases and illnesses because of the nature of the work and continuous travel to new places. Apart from physical hazards such as diseases and injuries caused due to accidents, seafarers also fall prey to psychological problems such as homesickness, loneliness and fatigue, a part and parcel of their life at sea. Moreover, if something happens onboard there are in most cases no possibilities to turn to an expert and get extra medical help. Seafarers have to manage everything themselves when at sea. But no matter how many risks they have to face working on board ships, they continue with their jobs and face the health hazards quite bravely by acquiring knowledge and training themselves for the worst medical emergencies. What would you do if you break your bones while working and do not have to a doctor or hospital to attend you immediately? Well, seafarers perform some of the most dangerous jobs without a doctor around. Do they need any greater reason to be thanked?

seafarer welding deck

 

6. Seafarers Follow Toughest Regulations and Laws

With the increasing number of stringent regulations related to ships around the world, seafarers are facing grave difficulties not only to ensure their own safety but also to abide by the rules and regulations of environmental and ship protection. Moreover, each country the ship visits has its own law and regulations which they can freely use to criminalise a seafarer. Most of the times this is done with the intention to raise revenue or settle political issues. In the past years, several seafarers have been made scapegoats by countries desperately wanting to prove a point to other nations. Under such acts, seafarers have been prisoned for years, tortured and treated in the most deplorable manner. Can you consider living each day of your life dealing with different (and sometimes insane) laws without any kind of substantial reassurance to help you out incase things go wrong? If you are on land, you can immediately call your lawyer or at least know the right person to talk to, but seafarers don’t have that luxury. They work through toughest legal obligations at their own risk while delivering the world cargo.

seafarers

7. Seafarers Work Round the Clock With Monotonous Routines

Sailing the high seas with all those exotic locations and glamorous uniforms sounds romantic to many people. But most do not know about the hard work seafarers put every day and night to run those ships and their machinery. Ships of every seafarer, who has been sailing for a few years must have reached the best places in the world such as New york, Hong Kong, Tokyo etc., but for majority of seafarers, all these beautiful places either look like the ship’s engine room or upper deck. Gone are the days when seafarers had the luxury of prolonged stays at ports. Today a ship is loaded and unloaded in max 24 hours leaving no time for shore leaves. Moreover, port means additional work, which sometimes involve continuously working for 18 hours at a stretch. With increasing threats from terrorists, most countries now do not even allow shore leave to seafarers, leaving them with no option but to stay on board. Would you like if someone made you work for several days and then restricted you from stepping out of the office premises? Of course not. But seafarers work happily under such circumstances and deadlines, not because there is no other option, but because they know the importance of their work and delivering of the cargo on time. 

8. Seafarers Work The Most Without the Basic Rights

A majority of seafarers sail without proper insurance or pension policies – few of the basics rights every working professional on this earth must get. Many shipping companies do not have a proper pension scheme in their contract, even if seafarers want to contribute. Moreover, seafarers from several countries (especially Asian) do not even have the provision of decent medical care or insurance system either at sea or on leave. Considering the fact that a person working on land at any level has all such basic rights, it is surprising to see how seafarers continue to work in such adverse situations even without the basic rights that they deserve. There have been cases in the past wherein seafarers had to literally beg in order to receive compensation for expenses and medical treatment for injuries they endured on board. Though the seafarers know they deserve all these rights and a lot more, but are still devoid of them, the work on board ship do not stop. They continue to carry out their duties with the same intensity as ever.

merchant navy
Image Credits : Capt. Sudhir Dixit

9. Seafarers Are At High Risk Of Criminalisation and Abandonment While Performing Their Duties

According to ITF, seafarers are among the most exploited and abused group of workers in the world. They face exploitation, abuse and corruption on a large scale. Many seafarers have been criminalized, abandoned and not paid by their shipping companies, especially in tough financial times. Several of them find themselves abandoned in a port with no money, no supplies and no way to get home. In certain types of maritime accidents, especially those involving pollution, seafarers are highly vulnerable because of unfair trails and weight of expectations from local people and government. In the past, seafarers have been wrongly accused and sentenced punishments without a proper trial or help from their own government or shipping company. The number of such incidents are on the rise because of the increase in stringent laws around the world. In spite of such grave injustice and ill-treatment, seafarers perform their duties on ships plying in countries with some of the most inhumane laws. Isn’t it unfair to watch them go through such situations while all they were doing was carrying out their duties? No matter how small a mistake, seafarers always have to pay a heavy price.

10. Seafarers Live With Least Accommodation And Communication Facilities 

While people on land have the luxury to call their loved ones as and when they want, seafarers often have to wait until they reach land to find a decent communication facility (Also,there is no guarantee that every port will have such facilities). Even today most of the seafarers are devoid of a decent mode of communication. That’s not all, there are many who live in poor quality cabins with filthy couch and mould. Moreover many complain of bad quality and insufficient quantity of food. For those on long voyages, rotting fruits and stale meats is a common sight. Though the regulations to monitor the quality of food and living conditions have improved, there are often times when seafarers do not even have a decent meal. As harsh as it may sound, seafarers not only have to deal with such conditions but also continue to carry out their duties onboard ships. Of all the things, at least decent accommodation and food is most deserved by all seafarers, considering the life of loneliness and hardships they live on ships.

Seafarers are often seen as happy-go-lucky people, who are always flashing a broad smile both on and off board ship. But there is a lot more to them. They are probably, one of the very few people in the world, who understand the true value of family and work. With the types of difficulties they face at sea, seafarers know very well how to make the most of the free time and enjoy to the fullest. Even though they are aware of the importance of their work, they do not allow it to go to their head. They continue with their duties even if the world, governments and companies continue to ignore them; for they know their time, both on ship and on land, is limited and making the most of that is the only option them have.

We at Marine Insight, request the people of the world to give a special “THANK YOU” to all the seafarers for the tremendous work they do.

Share this article to as many people as possible – A little bit of respect and appreciation is all a seafarer desires. 

About Author

Raunek Kantharia is a marine engineer turned maritime writer and entrepreneur. After a brief stint at the sea, he founded Marine Insight in 2010. Apart from managing Marine Insight, he also writes for a number of maritime magazines and websites.

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41 Comments

  1. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ARTICLE. I´M ASKING YOU A PERMISSION BECAUSE I WANT TO SEND THIS TO MY COLLEAGUES THE ECUADORIAN MERCHANT MARINE OFFICERS.

    GOD BLESS YOU

    CAP Jorge Sanchez B.

  2. incredible explanation about seafarers life,l am also working on ship ı feel each topic myself when read many thanks…

  3. It is the reality and in fact a wonderful article. I had the privilege to service seafarers and their ships
    while working in the spare parts dpt., of enough shipping companies.
    I thank God who helped me to deliver the needed spares on time being happy to replease their tension
    for the spares. Stll praying for the seafarers to sail in safe seas with swift winds and away from pirates
    Hope to be able to serve them again.

    Can I pass this article at our newspaper Naftemporiki, here in Greece???

  4. I have never been to sea save for ship trial and sailing on holidays. I served my time as a fitter in the River Tyne shipyards in England during the 1960s and spent some years in ship repair.

  5. I have never been to sea save for ship trial and sailing on holidays. I served my time as a fitter in the River Tyne shipyards in England during the 1960s and spent some years in ship repair. I have seen the conditions that seafarers lived and worked in, some good and others deplorable. There are some good shipping companies who train the crews to a high professional standard for good business reasons but they are, I reckon, to be the few. I live in South Shields and no doubt some readers will know the place since it has a nautical college which has trained thousands of marine students over many years and I have got to know slightly a few of them. Their have been over time a number of ships ‘arrested’ because of issues from poor hygiene to serious safety breeches. At present a ship is in our river after such an arrest. The fridges on board broke down beyond repair, insufficient food was loaded and the crew had to resort to fishing on the voyage to feed themselves. The ship is in a dire state and requires serious repairs, the company is in trouble and so the crew were left stranded without pay. The local community, many ex seafarers or family of seafarers supported the crew, mostly from the Philippines, over last Christmas and New Year with food clothing and mobile phones to call family. The crew were eventually repatriated but all of that experience just show how seafarers are exploited left right and centre by unscrupulous management. The name of the ship is, and I kid you all not, DONALD DUCKLING.

  6. That’s really a sad story. Though many say that the living standards have increased on ships over the years, such incidents hit us hard with reality!

  7. Superb article Raunak. True. My husband is working in shipping for more than eight years. I always worried about his safety on board and his health. Pls write on these important issues also.

  8. I worked at sea for a 20 years, is the first time I read something like this, actually the life at sea for a seafarer is too hard. Thanks for the article, I remember each one of those hard times away from my family.

  9. Hi Raunek, splendid. Thanks for the article. We will share it for maximum aeareness of the fact among the ignorant world. Great initiative, keep it up.

  10. I am Graduated in ETO(Electro technician officer) Bahirdar University Maritime Academy in 2014 march12. I will work at sea. this article is important for all seafarers.

  11. Dear Raunek – appreciate your good work & writing in bringing some hard lying facts to the surface.

    Rgds,
    Mehta

  12. This post has highly enlightens my knowledge in this career of seafaring,even as I plan and still looking for vessel to go onboard,God will continue to protect us through the dangers ahead and even the stormy sea,more grease to your elbow for this post.

  13. Its highly motivational and also a lesson to everyone at the high sea,best regards

  14. Thank you for this article. I have worked on the sea 22 years all the world round and often i have encountered ruough sea. In Albania there is no any repspect for the seaferers. There are many albanian seaferers who have worked on the sea even 40 years but unfortunately who is actually in pension they take 80 Eur till 120 Eur per month from AB til to Captain. It is a shame.

  15. Thank you for the article. Everything is true. I will tell my family to read this. I m a seaferer since 10 years now, and my family still does nt understand my job. How hard is the job… I will just add an other point… The difficuties to be the only woman on board… With high rank working with some culture different of mine… But anyways, for me , this still the most wonderful job in the world!! ( thanks god, I always work for good company)

  16. Wonderful Article. I worked at Sea for 38 years,with no cumminication ficilities to contact with the family at all. Only we used to receive the letters from Family sometimes after months. God bless all Seafarers

  17. Dear Raunek – It was really nice to read your article.Appreciate your good work & bringing some hard lying facts to the surface.Yes,I too served out at sea for more than 35 years and totally agree with your comments/view about seafarers that you have reflected in your article.Many go out to sea to built a career and by the time they find out how hard the life is out at sea,it will be late for them to return back to shore in lookout for another job.You are very true,looking from the land it looks seafarers are having a very good time in their life.Yes,the other side of river is always green !!!!!!!!!Anyway thanks again for this article…..

    Rgds,
    Regards Capt.Mathews

  18. Thank you Captain Mathews for your motivating words. Really helps a lot for future endeavors!

  19. Dear, Author and Marineinsight

    I was much delighted for this column tackling about the seafarers life, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for sharing these thoughts for the knowledge of everybody be it a seafarer or an ordinary people. It may be true that you will not fully understand a seafarers life unless you become one of us but as for your writing it would give an idea for them that we really are worth thanking for.

  20. Dear Roi

    Thank you very much for those kind words. Everyone at Marine Insight are or have been seafarers and therefore we understand what it feels to be one.

    Raunek k

  21. Dear Raunak

    Thank you so much for the article
    its really encouraging. And m proud to be a part of such an organisation thankyou so much once again.

    Regards
    Cadet Sandeep Kumar

  22. Dear Mr. Raunek,

    Your message is was very nice i admire Mariners because most of my relatives are working in the Ships too, and i have experience how marines work, my previous job in Doha Qatar was managing 2 ships, In im really interested working again in the same field.
    Presently im looking for a job in administration work in the same field.

    regards,
    Mrs. Attatork

  23. It is great to have someone like you who has at heart to evaluated and promote the status of the seafarers for their hard working to construct the world and feed peoples thank you very much for sharing

  24. I am one of those seafarers that you write about. I have been working at sea for 10+ years. It is a tough life. But, it is also very rewarding. We make enough money that my wife does not have to work. She is able to stay at home and care for our young children. I can see the difference this makes in their lives. They are the happiest most secure kids you will ever meet. This life, with all of its hardships, has afforded us the opportunity to raise our children with the constant love and attention of their mother. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.

  25. am proud to be a seaferer come night come day…no regretd!..i serve nations and the world economic.Am also proud to be an atom of increase and good economy developer through my profession.

  26. I studied Nautical science, presently am working in a shipping company as a marketer but have not had an opportunity of going On-board a ship.

    I appreciate the author and i really want to experience “Life at sea”. (Bennyclickadegboye@yahoo.com
    )

  27. Dear Raunek,

    What a touching story. Thank you for letting people know about seafaring life. Most new entrants are not aware of this, I see that they learn the hard way. What I believe is discipline is a key to success on boardship. Youngmen and women shall prepare themselves before going to sea.

  28. “A little bit of respect and appreciation is all a seafarer desires.” That is true and correct but it’s not enough. Social insurance as pension should fill in the gap. For most of the seafarers from some European countries (not only Asia) that’s only a dream. Unless the shipping companies will be obligated to implement their own or to adhere to a flag state pension scheme for their employees such benefit will never be possible for many seafarers. So far MLC is just a “recommendation” reg. seafarers social insurance.

  29. Thank you for sharing this information. My son is studying maritime engineering and I am very concerned about when he has to actually leave. Thanks this sheds some very important light on the life ot ther

  30. Thanks Raunek for that wonderful article. We are a software company about to release a platform for seafarers called cfarersworld.com. It would be very nice if you and other seafarer’s could visit the site and let us know your thoughts about the same.

  31. Dear marine insight,

    “Can they say no? Yes! But they never say so, they never will.”

    im touch the word that you given
    thank you very much,i know all seafarers appreciate your article.

  32. I am still not satisfied with the way even within seafaring organisation goes about such business, because our
    business, and other welfare programs for seafarer, are handled by non-seafaring groups, whom muscle in on
    the maritime trough, which generates billions or trillion of US$ annually . Though some of the problems that
    face the seaman is or would highlighted, age, and other forms of discrimination, race, and nationality plays
    a part in the selection of seafarers, if the recruiter is not in favor of you, because your skin is black, you will not
    get a call, much more given the job, also the recruiters, whom most( are European/British-women) who are the
    consultant, even those elderly woman may be the supervisor, but the male have to take the orders.

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