As we have repeatedly heard, seafarers are the backbone of global trade, enabling it to move across the world even when they themselves cannot move as freely..
Seafarers have been part of global trade from time immemorial.. As society and trade evolved, seafarers have also had to keep up with the times and adapt.
One such evolution that has both helped and flummoxed seafarers is technology, but we don’t often hear from seafarers about whether this evolution has helped them, or to what extent.
This is especially true for seafarers whose first language is NOT English and often find it difficult to express their thoughts and views in English..
The Nautical Institute’s STEER (Seafarer Technology Engagement, Empowerment and Resilience) Project is an international research and engagement initiative that explores the real impact of technology, automation, digitalisation and new systems on operational safety, workload, skills, training and wellbeing..
Through a survey, the STEER Project is calling on all seafarers from all sectors, and all ranks globally to share their experiences of how technology is impacting their daily work at sea and ashore.. Those who are NOT seafarers but still involved with them, either as crewing companies, ship agencies, etc are also encouraged to promote this amongst the seafarers they deal with to share their inputs..
By listening to the day-to-day experiences of crews, managers, shipowners, manufacturers, regulators and trainers, the STEER Project aims to explore how new technologies affect safety, welfare and decision-making at sea..
If you are a seafarer or assisting a seafarer, you can scan the codes below to get to the website and choose the survey option in your native language that may be listed.. For South African seafarers whose native language is NOT English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, and Zulu have been added to the list..
If you are a seafarer, do one of the following to access this survey
Thanks to Capt.Ann Pletschke, CMMar FNI, STEER Project Lead, for bringing this up at a Coffee Chat by the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, South Africa Branch, moderated by Capt.Brendon Hawley..
