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World-Applying Lessons from Seafarers- Beyond the wildest dreams of those who live on the land and enjoy its rewards. “seafaring” or “merchant navy” encompasses a far more comprehensive range of activities. In our life, seafaring is much more deeply ingrained than one may imagine.
World-Applying Lessons from Seafarers
Since the introduction of the international shipping trade, the global economies and various nations have undergone a sea shift. The systematic and standardized shipping industry is responsible for the stunning sculptures and buildings built worldwide, the energy of fuel that powers and transports masses, and the mind-blowing inventions, jaw-dropping technological marvels, food, clothing, and automobiles that we see and experience today.
Behind these scenes, there are untold tales of a sizable workforce of men and women who toil tirelessly around the clock to ensure that their ships carrying a variety of commodities and consignments are delivered safely and on time at the furthest reaches of the planet. These workers are the seafarers. These ships go to the farthest reaches of the world, serving as the foundation of many industries dependent on shipping and logistics.
Becoming a seafarer, though, requires much more than that. A seafarer has a few characteristics that make them essential to the smooth operation of the ship. The world can learn a few things from mariners, including:
Learn to Sacrifice:
Seafarers travel to the sea to earn a living respectably. They do this to ensure their family back home has plenty of conveniences, excellent health, and education. Their relatives and friends provide them with the proper support and appreciation. To ensure that goods and fuel supplies arrive to light up neighbours’ homes, ships manned by seafarers navigate across oceans while the rest of the population is occupied with Christmas and New Year celebrations. For the rest of the world to not miss important events, seafarers sacrifice several while at sea.
Learn to Be More Punctual:
Every minute matters in commercial shipping. International shipping commerce does include deadlines, and ships must adhere rigorously to their predicted arrival times and port schedules. Despite strong currents, cyclones, and stormy weather along their path, shipmasters and navigation officers undertake this tiresome endeavour using every tool at their disposal. Every seafarer’s day at sea is organized according to their work schedule. Even though unexpected crises sometimes occur, sailors are noted for finishing their tasks by the deadlines they have set.
Running a large facility like a ship at sea with the utmost regularity is complex. However, if mariners can appreciate time under the most challenging working conditions, so can the rest of the world.
Encourage Resilience:
On the eve of Independence Day, two trainees on an Indian supply ship assisted in the rescue of people on a rig in an offshore exploration area. The rig had taken fire, and the crew leapt into the ocean to escape death before help could come. Despite strong wind and surf, the offshore supply vessel approached to save the rig crew in the sea. One of the survivors was trapped in turbulence as they came and finally perished after becoming impaled by the supply vessel’s propeller. The two trainees who saw the disaster were numb and frigid for the remainder of their contract and decided to leave the sea.
The Master, who was a sailor for a long time, motivated them to hold on and not give up on their career at sea. It worked, and the trainees soon rose to levels of navigating officers.
Be More Flexible:
One of the most flexible professions is the seafarer. Seafaring is a genuinely global profession that brings individuals from different backgrounds and cultures together as they travel, live, and learn in close quarters. A seafarer effectively completes all essential tasks without delay, even while working in challenging weather conditions or the most distant regions of the globe where linguistic and cultural challenges are widespread. From their training days until they achieve a position among the crew or officers, almost every seafarer has experience working with at least four or five nationalities. In addition to acquiring this remarkable interpersonal skill quickly, seafarers also learn how to work efficiently.
Being True and Honest:
Seafarers occasionally receive recognition for their honest and truthful services. This workforce has always remained devoted to their jobs and ship owners despite being involved in the legal aspects of commercial shipping and regulations onboard ships. Their salaries are the only incentives that have caused them to stray from their sincere commitment to deliver the cargo they carry, no matter how valuable it may be.
Become more environmentally conscious:
The maritime industry has some of the strictest rules regarding environmental protection. A seafarer is imbued with the fundamental and innate tendency or, more accurately, develops a much improved civic sense to store trash and not litter in public places while at the shore or at home during vacations as a result of the implementation of a garbage management policy or plan onboard and measures to prevent pollution through an oil spill.
To keep their surroundings clean, seafarers can be seen walking cautiously toward a trash can and placing their trash there; this is a lesson the rest of the world needs to learn as soon as possible.
Stay Active & Family-Focused:
After spending a few months at sea, a seafarer longs for his family more, and as a consequence, the relationship gets stronger over time. The family supports his desire to take a few months off to have a successful life in society. This shared sacrifice increases respect for and belief in the family. The approach teaches mariners how to handle their personal lives and the demanding and repetitive life at sea. Because he knows that his time aboard a specific ship is limited, a seafarer believes in savouring every moment and makes every effort to make the most of it. Seafarers are cheerful, intelligent individuals.
In conclusion, to be clear that the Merchant Navy goes much beyond the idiom “Six Months on Land and Six Months at Sea” or the widespread misconceptions individuals may have. The world would quickly descend into chaos, darkness, and starvation if ships on the ocean came to a stop.
It’s time to recognize and reward the indirect contribution seafarers make to the health and well-being of people everywhere, as they transport between 80 and 90 percent of global trade in terms of volume and 70 percent in terms of value.
As the Sun sets, the Seafarer stands tall and solid above the horizon, holding the batten to ensure that the Flame of Life continues to burn as brightly as ever.
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