Seaways Focus - June 2024
Sustainability, fairness and equity
by John Lloyd FNI Chief Executive, The Nautical Institute
In my recent travels I have been struck by the unexpected prominence of a theme – a theme that affects us all, and one that should be very high on our list of priorities. That theme is sustainability.
Sustainability can mean many things and appears in many guises – but all of them important. During my recent trip to Australia, I was delighted to be part of the discussion surrounding the importance of women in the maritime sector.
There is no doubt in my mind that we need to draw upon skills and perspectives from a broad cross-section from our wider community if we are to gain the wisdom and insights that can only come from a diversified workforce. Such diversity can only help bring into greater focus the needs of modern workers and their expectations for a reasonable and balanced approach to work and family needs.
We need to provide a welcoming and positive message that embraces the rich experience women can bring to employment at sea and elsewhere in maritime.
Skills for the future are not the sole domain of men in maritime!
Maritime biosecurity
Of course sustainability is often associated with climate change and the safety and security of our oceans and coastal nations – although as our recent Seaways series on the topic shows, this is in fact only a single aspect of it. In Brisbane I was privileged to be part of a wideranging conversation surrounding issues of bio-fouling and clean hulls. This is such a complex subject as we evaluate the importance of protecting domestic species from invasive ones, while at the same time finding solutions that allow our ships to operate internationally in a cost-effective and meaningful way.
I was pleased to learn of innovations in hull cleaning techniques and how we can use enhanced technology to improve vessel performance, while at the same time ensure we are not allowing invasive marine life to thrive in areas where it would cause widespread harm.
It seems we still have work to do to allow this to take place in port if we are to maximise the potential for operational gain in this area.
Huge thanks from me to our branch teams in Western Australia and Queensland for hosting my visit and the technical and social arrangements you put in place.
Engaging with the world
Our branches play a critical role in our engagement and never more so than when we host our Annual General Meeting and technical conferences. We are delighted to be able to hold these in different parts of the world, highlighting our global reach, and the important input from our members in all regions.
As perhaps the leading source of seafarer supply, the Philippines provides a wonderful and highly relevant location for our AGM 2024.
In the fantastic location of Citadines Bay we look forward to welcoming domestic and international participants to this key event in our calendar. My thanks, once again, to the branch team who are helping us organise locations and arranging the technical tour on the second day.
Keep the 27th and 28th June free in your diaries and please join us if you can. For further details and to register your attendance, please visit the events page.
The AGM itself will be held as a hybrid meeting with members able to join us online. More details will be provided on our events page and through our normal communication channels.
Fair treatment for seafarers
And finally, I would like to leave you with a thought about caring for our seafarers. We know that after serious incidents such as the Dali and other maritime casualties, the role of the Master and crew comes under close scrutiny. Being accountable for decisions and actions is all part of being a professional in any area of work.
But does this mean that members of the crew involved in such incidents should be held on board indefinitely? Should they be denied access to communications with friends and family and made to face an uncertain future? Perhaps those making key decisions in the USA (and other parts of the world) could pause for a moment and consider how they would feel if their family were embarked on a vessel in similar circumstances? We continue to campaign for change and fair treatment of seafarers, both at the IMO and elsewhere.
Best wishes and I hope to see you in Manila.