maritime

 You know yourself, that you are getting older. Your knees do not work as they used to. They're not as flexible, for example going downstairs you need to hold onto the rail. You are short of breath if you attempt to run, I should say hobble to catch the bus. Worse still you notice you do not have the physical strength that you had, and you start to have arthritic pain in your shoulders and fingers. Such is your state now! You are mentally sharp although your short-term memories come and go. You tire more quickly, and afternoon siesta has become a welcome break. You accept all of this; you have to as there is little you can do about it! Adapt to survive has become your watchword. Add extra time to reach the bus, Do physical work in shorter periods with plenty of rest time.   It works.   But it is not your discovery of how your body ages which is the most annoying. It is how people change their behaviour towards you that becomes most irritating. You must be ti...

  A changing scene In a previous article I wrote on the way that technology has changed the nature of shipping and brought new demands for training. Now we face a new technological challenge in the form of digitalisation and decarboniisation for shipping [1] and this will lead to new demands for training of seafarers. Where should that training come from? The International Maritime Organisation has always set the “minimum safety standards” for the operationf of ships under its conventions, particularly the four main conventions: 1.        The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, 2.        The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), 3.        The Convention for Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 4.        The Maritime Labor Convention. Ratified by maritime nations it is lef...