Seaways Focus - September 2024
A membership milestone
by John Lloyd FNI Chief Executive, The Nautical Institute
July 2024 proved to be something of a milestone month for Membership of The Nautical Institute with numbers reaching 12,000 for the first time in our history. Welcome to all of our new members, student members and so many right across the maritime industry. First and foremost, we are a membership organisation, here for our members and influencing best practice and safer maritime operations wherever we can.
Together we can make a difference.
We are also here to support our members with their professional development and to grow their careers. Of course, this journal Seaways is a key way we communicate, but there are many other resources available too. Our website is a great portal providing visibility for our member benefits and branch activities, as well as a range of technical resources. It also offers more information on the full range of courses offered by The Nautical Institute Academy, often at discounted prices for members.
"First and foremost, we are a membership organisation, here for our members and influencing best practice and safer maritime operations wherever we can."
We showcase new career opportunities in the maritime sector through our jobs board. Take a look and see what opportunities might be available for your next career move. If you are an employer, get in touch to see how we can help you reach out to the amazing maritime professionals that come to our website.
Watch out for our mailings too as we promote courses and webinars and other events and opportunities.
World Maritime Day
September is such an important month in the maritime calendar as we mark World Maritime Day. This year’s theme ‘Navigating the Future – Safety First’ aligns so well with our priorities as a professional body. And being safe as we navigate change is particularly important.
The Nautical Institute has been heavily engaged in considering what training will be required as we migrate to the next generation of fuels. In the coming weeks we will release our views on what a training curriculum should look like.
Ensuring our seafarers and their shoreside counterparts have a thorough understanding of the nature of these fuels is fundamental to ensuring our community can utilise them safely. The physical hazards need to be understood for day-to-day operations and our technical staff will require special training. But all seafarers need to be aware of the implications of change. All seafarers need to be prepared for emergency response and there is no doubt this will require a significant commitment from the whole community.
Get involved
So much of our maritime safety depends upon people. Properly trained and experienced people help make the world a safer place. Exchanging ideas and best practice is how we help ensure the highest standards are attained and continued. Active members get the most out of their membership and so I encourage you to pitch in and share your knowledge and expertise. I hope many of our 12,000 members will read this and think, ‘How can I share best practice?’
Articles in Seaways sharing your technical expertise and experience are always especially welcome and letters to the Editor help highlight areas of particular interest. Another possibility is to join the Council and Committees or the Younger Members’ Council. We are delighted to be hosting another global participation event engaging with these volunteers in early October.
Finally, a quick word about an important event taking place in November this year that we are delighted to actively support.
Hosted at IMO HQ in London, the International Maritime Human Factors Symposium will bring together the best of industry and the best of academia in a two-day event with leading speakers from the UK and overseas.
Further details can be found on our Events Page.
We look forward to seeing you if you have the opportunity to attend.