Today is the IMO “Day of the Seafarer.” So? Why does it matter? It matters because without the hard working men and women who go to sea, our world, our global civilization, simply would not exist.
Take a look at a world map. Where the are major cities? With few exceptions, the major cities of the world are either on natural harbors or at the head of navigation of large rivers. These cities exist because of trade, specifically trade by sea. 90% of world trade is carried by sea. It is only the seafarers who make that trade possible. Our misnamed planet, Earth, is almost three quarters ocean, which, because of seafarers is a vast highway that binds us all together.
Seafarers bring the energy we rely on, the raw materials we take for granted, the clothes we wear and the goods we could not live without. The computer or tablet that you are reading this on was built from components sourced from around the world. Even the global internet is only possible because seafarers in cable-laying ships laid the fiber-optic cable on the ocean floor that links continents together in a “World Wide Web.”
Over one million men and women work, day and night, every day of the year, under difficult and often dangerous conditions, to make the world we live in possible. Seafarers hold the world together, yet too often they are invisible and ignored. They deserve far more than a day’s appreciation. We hope that everyone will join us in thanking the seafarers all across our watery globe for their labors and in wishing them all fair treatment, fair wages and fair seas.
IMO Secretary-General pays tribute to seafarers around the world
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I hadn’t realized that today was the Day of the Seafarer. Thanks for the reminder to keep in mind all of the things we take for granted that have come to us across the water.
Thanks for this — I didn’t know that June 25 was so important. Currently re-reading The Ships and Sailors of Old Salem, and am amazed, as always, at the courage and daring of those old seamen. It is certainly matched today — the ships are a helluva lot bigger, but the crews don’t seem to be larger, and they certainly aren’t paid very well. Yet, as you point out, global trade would collapse without them.
With the technology that we have today, we don’t even remember the importance of seafaring and what it has done for mankind. Thank you for reminding us to honor the forefathers of seafaring as well as the current seafarers that risk their lives for their family and for the industry.