A bit of a busman's
holiday, while I would not fully endorse all of the conclusions and
there were times where it felt it tended to favour the simplistic
remedies of the arm-chair observer it gives a good overview of the
nature of the shipping industry.
It shows the tension
of the status of the ship as a utilitarian instrument of global
industry and a home to the seafarer. We all experience cost control
at work, but it is tough when that same cost control is applied to
you home as well.
There are examples
on bad practice, of mediocrity, and occasionally even best practice.
That Rose travelled on a Maersk vessel avoids any claim that she was
actively seeking the bottom of the spectrum.
In particular the
ways in which technology are changing the life of the seafarer, both
the technology of the ship itself and the increased access to
personal entertainment and social media. The sociability is
declining, port call are shorter, crews are smaller, and when
on-board they spend more time in their cabins with a laptop rather
than the mess with each other.
Change is inevitable
but an acknowledgement of its impacts is important.
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