Ill health forced us to take an extended break from blogging. This was no welcome respite. Sometimes worse than sickness itself is the feeling of being inutile, of involuntarily standing still as Life passes by. But why complain? Even the healthy are subject to bodily dysfunctions, and old age and decrepitude soon catch up with all of us. Some seafarers have a harder time of it – like the ship captain who invited us to coffee earlier this year to seek our advice.
The man had suffered a stroke the last time he was at sea. Looking weak and defeated like a wounded soldier from the battlefront, he was now fighting to collect his back wages. And like many others in his situation, he was having to cope with feckless bureaucrats and greedy lawyers. It’s a sad tale we’ve heard countless times before. We will no doubt hear it again, notwithstanding all the hoopla over ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.
Why do some manning agents and shipowners have to make life difficult for seafarers? Part of the answer was once provided by a young manning CEO. ‘My ship officers are lucky,’ he told us with a slight trace of contempt on his chubby face. ‘They have higher salaries than my office managers.’
What a dumb remark. It could only come from somebody who sits behind a big desk and doesn’t see, or refuses to see, the hardships and dangers inherent in the profession. Surprisingly, we’ve seen the same callous attitude toward seamen amongst those who were once seamen themselves and are now making a living out of the lads.
In the end, we could only lend a sympathetic ear to the ship captain. What practical advice could we give him? The man is wrestling with the meaner side of human nature and a system that regards seafarers as mere commodities . ~Barista Uno
Hi Barista,
This is the best May Day message I have read. Long time didn’t hear from you…. Thanks for the interesting articles..
God Bless.
I’m glad to know that you contiinue to visit the blog. Thank you, Johnny.
Hi Barista,
Nice to have you back. Really missed you.
Glad to know you will be enlightening us with your blog. Sorry to hear about this captain. As you said there are a lot of mean owners, managers & manning agents around. I think we have to start a Name & Shame board so people may know about them and it may convince them to stop this nonsense.
Take care.
Capt.Yousefi
ASTA Marine Services
Vancouver/Canada
Thanks very much for welcoming me back, Captain.
A Name & Shame board? Many deserve to be included so it will have to be a giant board indeed.
Dear BU,
Glad you’re back! Am praying for you.
An excellent point: “Surprisingly, we’ve seen the same callous attitude toward seamen amongst those who were once seamen themselves and are now making a living out of the lads.”
We’ve all seen it many times, as an officer makes the transition to the office. Initially, he seems to be a big improvement over the typical office type, but over time he changes and eventually becomes just like “those guys”.
As one who has made the transition from vessel to office myself, I think it’s a simple case of altered incentives. If you’re going to prosper in the office environment, you must meet their goals. Perhaps this is why it is said that 80% of sea officers who go into the office fail to succeed – they either can’t, or won’t accept the new incentives.
My case was fortunate, I think, as I ended up in an environment that encourages vessel personnel to make the transition and, most of the time, values their viewpoint. So I claim no special virtue in not becoming one of “those guys”. Company culture has a huge influence in this area, and that’s set at the top.
We’re all human; we’re all selfish, we all want to meet expectations, to succeed in a given arena. I think some of the aforementioned 80% may have been people who didn’t let those selfish desires master them completely.
Far from “failures”, they may have been unwilling to sacrifice their own sense of right and wrong to what they saw as a flawed corporate profit model. God bless ’em!
God bless you, too, BU – thanks for coming back.
Thank you for your kind words, Reid.
To be sure, corporate culture affects individual behaviour. But we need to ask who creates that culture. Isn’t it the individuals themselves who make up an organisation? It all comes back to the question of individual values. These precede the organisation and ultimately decide what kind of corporate culture will prevail in it.
Well, you’re right, BU! Once again I’m forced to admire your ability to make the better point. I was talking about what too often is; your reply quietly stated the bigger truth.
That’s why I read this blog.
Welcome back, mate, Happy to see you blogging again. I’m due for leave in a few days from now.