It’s been a sticky hot Sunday in Manila: 36.3C, real feal index 42.0C. But instead of whining, we decided to conjure up possible maritime catchwords and slogans to take our mind off the heat and humidity. The maritime world is replete with such phrases. Some could drive you crazy, such as the omnipresent “sustainable shipping“. But as they say, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Here’s our list of new maritime locutions:
Sustainable maritime training – the imposition of more training requirements on seafarers in order to sustain the earnings of those who train them.
Maritime meetingitis – obsessive/compulsive habit, commonly found amongst maritime bureaucrats, of attending frequent meetings and staying away from work that needs to be done.
“The money element” in shipping – they’re talking of “the human element” in shipping to emphasise the importance of man as opposed to machine. Why not “the money element” without which ships and seafarers cannot exist?
Maritime flunkey system – the use of Filipino maritime cadets as unpaid office help in manning agencies and unions in exchange for their getting a chance to board their first ship. Exploitative but considered normal practice in Manila.
Worse Management Practice (WMP) – needed to complement Best Management Practice (BMP) but still has to be developed, published and distributed by the shipping associations. The good and the bad are two sides of the same coin; how can maritime folks know one without knowing the other?
Maritime information overload – excess of information from the internet, especially feared by maritime executives who suffer from intellectual underload and/or are too lazy to use the internet.
Have a good week ahead, dear readers. Stay safe. Stay happy. ~Barista Uno
