In SwedishYear of Seafarer
IMO’s headquarters in London. Photo: IMO
2010 has been declared the Year of Seafarer by the UN safety organ IMO (International Maritime Organization). Ashok Mahapatra, manager of the section for Maritime Education and human resource issues at the IMO headquarters in London, says that the main reason for this declaration is to direct attention to the world’s one and a half million seafarers and their work in daily trade.
– This is an excellent way for us to send a clear message to them. We want to show them that we who work with maritime issues on land understand the extreme pressure under which they work and that we see the sacrifices they make. But we also want to inform them about the work we are doing to create better conditions for them, he says.
Demand for safe new growth
The Year of Seafarer is also part of the campaign Go to Sea, which the IMO introduced in 2008 together with the ILO (International Labour Organization) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation to increase recruitment in the maritime industry. Securing new growth in the industry requires good working conditions and good conditions onboard, says Ashok Mahapatra, who is well aware that there is much left to do in this area.
– Seafarers must be given the support they need in times of accidents, when they are abandoned in harbours or when they sail into pirate-infested waters. Nor should they be prevented from going ashore by safety regulations when they stop in harbours. There are many things which can be improved, explains Ashok Mahapatra.
Some improvements will come about through the implementation of the IMO’s revised STCW convention, which is due to be ratified in Manila in June, Mahapatra believes. The ILO superconvention for seafarers that was adopted four years ago will also bring with it many advantages for the world’s seafarers when it comes into force.
Linda Sundgren
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