Page 37 - Mariners Cricket Club (Singapore) - Souvenir Magazine 2020
P. 37

Technology is evolving fast and these professionals at sea have to keep evolving along
                and keeping abreast with this evolution. The process of skilling, re-skilling and re-

                re-skilling is normal to the seafarer as the world looks for more efficient and cleaner
                ways to transport goods. In my last 26 years of association with this great industry, I
                can see the huge advancements in technology and admire the ways that the Seafarers
                have kept pace with it. Of course, now the focus is primarily on the cost effi ciency
                alongside the environmental impacts, and we are likely to see more innovation in the
                areas of replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. The developments
                are moving fast and we hope to see larger use of renewable energy in a few years from
                now because that is what is key for leaving the planet inhabitable for the generations to
                come. People are also talking about autonomous or unmanned ships, but in my opinion
                that still seems distant, given the fact that shipping still needs to be the cheapest way to
                transport goods, so large scale and expensive automation may not be favorable towards
                keeping the costs low for the moment. Though a lot of testing has been successful, it
                may take some time to be a reality on a large and commercial scale.

                In the times of the pandemic, not a single vessel stopped trading despite global travel
                restrictions by which many Seafarers were subject to enormous duty overruns, besides
                the anxiety of the wellbeing of their families back home. The grace with which our
                bravehearts accepted the challenge was standout. The uncertainty of when a Seafarer
                may get relieved to go home after his tour of duty was under cloud but this adversity
                never let the global supply chain get disrupted - only thanks to our ‘SULTANS’.
                Many seafarers were stuck onboard for over 12 months, but they braved this storm to
                perfection.


                To sum up, Seafarers remain critical to the shipping industry and definitely are ‘Key’ to
                the global trade. My admiration for each professional at sea only grows larger everyday
                considering the workload that each one is undertaking, coupled with the challenges
                that is inherent to the profession.

                I wish each and every Seafarer good health and safe voyages. My silent prayers are with
                each and every person at sea.

                Truly the ‘SULTANS’ !!




                Best Regards,
                Maneesh

                PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE:

                # Error is normal, even the best make mistakes
                # Blame fi xes nothing
                # Learning and improvement is vital
                # Context infl uences behaviour
                # How you respond to failures matter












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