The maritime world – nay, Life itself – is full of ironies. That is, situations where there’s a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant or done, between what is expected and what actually happens. Ironies are a reminder of how complex and even disjointed reality is: things are not always as they appear. Being able to spot them can lead us to a better understanding of reality and perhaps of ourselves. Here’s a list of some ironies that can both amuse and baffle those engaged in the maritime industry, including bloggers like us:

1. A dozen countries have ratified the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006, the latest being land-locked Switzerland. The Philippines, the world’s top crew-supplier, has yet to ratify MLC2006, which is considered a watershed international treaty insofar as labour standards for seafarers are concerned.

2. Every major change in the IMO regulatory framework unleashes a flood of discussions, debates and clarifications. This is good business for conference and other maritime events organisers. But why the need for “experts” to explain the new rules? If these rules aren’t clear enough, how can the industry players follow them without sitting through some seminar or lecture?

3. Rear Admiral Peter Brady was recently re-elected chairman of the IMO’s powerful Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW) Sub-Committee, his ninth term. He hails from Jamaica, which has a population of only 2.8 million and is a flag of convenience (FOC).

4. International Registries Inc (IRI), which operates the Marshall Islands Maritime and Corporate Registry, the third largest open register, has its corporate headquarters in the US state of Virginia. The company came about through the initiative of Edward Stettinius Jr, US Secretary of State during the latter part of World War II and the first US Ambassador to the United Nations.

5. The term “FOC” is probably the dirtiest word in the international maritime vocabulary. Yet, as of 2009, more than half of the world’s merchant ships are registered under FOCs with the Panamanian, Liberian, and Marshallese registers accounting for nearly 40% of the world fleet reckoned in terms of deadweight tonnage.

6. A cruise vacation is supposed to be filled with fun and adventure. The cruise ship industry itself has a glamorous public image. Yet, numerous crimes have taken place on board the “Love Boats” and there’s even a group called International Cruise Victims Association (ICV) based in the US.

7. “Cross-cultural” training is one of the most popular buzzwords in the shipping industry. Interestingly, it is not uncommon for cruise ship operators to use mixed crews to lessen the chance of malcontented crew members conniving with one another and reporting infractions of labour standards to the ITF.

8. They’re lowering the boom on pollution-prone ships and ship technology. Yet, world shipping accounts for only a fraction of the total GHG emissions that are said to cause global warming. Only 3.5%, in fact, according to a 2007 IMO study. This is a drop in the bucket compared with the harmful emissions from industrial plants and road vehicles.

9. Amendments to the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention have arguably helped lessen maritime mishaps. At the same time, they have increased the financial burden on seafarers, if not their exploitation, not all shipowners being ready or willing to pay for the additional training. Wasn’t it the IMO that declared 2010 as the Year of the Seafarer?

10. Naval assets and military aircraft from some of the most powerful nations on earth have failed to stop Somali piracy. Increased allied naval presence in the Gulf of Aden has, in fact, seen the pirates expanding their scope of operations and escalating the violence.

Next time, we’ll have a list of maritime ironies in the Philippines – a country full of contrasts and contradictions, as every foreign visitor soon comes to realise. ~Barista Uno