Page 58 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2023

ON THE SEAFRONT

RECENT PORT STATE CONTROL Fleet Operations Manager (Piraeus); Gerald
TRENDS Annuss, Deputy Fleet Operations Manager
The Piraeus office of International Registries, (Hamburg) and Chris van Tiel, Fleet Oper-
Inc. (IRI) hosted a Port State Control (PSC) ations Manager (Roosendaal); Hans Krijger,
Seminar presented by the Registry’s global General Manager (Roosendaal) on behalf of
inspections team on Thursday, 27 April 2023. R.Vinod Kumar, Fleet Operations Manager
More than 170 owners, operators, and indus- (Mumbai), Captain Sascha Dyker, Fleet Oper-
try stakeholders from around Europe and the ations Manager (Hong Kong); James Maupin,
Mediterranean attended the PSC Seminar. Fleet Operations Manager (Houston) and
Theo Xenakoudis, Chief Commercial Offi- Davis Kong, Vice President, Fleet Operations
cer and Managing Director of IRI’s Piraeus (Fort Lauderdale). Following the presenta-
office, welcomed stakeholders to the semi- tions, attendees participated in discussion
nar, highlighting the importance of informa- and knowledge sharing during Q&A sessions.
tion sharing and collaboration as the industry
addresses the challenges of the future. SURVEY REVEALS GROWING
Simon Bonnett, Chief Maritime Officer FRUSTRATIONS AND CHALLENGES
(London) provided an overview of the Reg- FACED BY SEAFARERS
istry’s Maritime Services Group and current The Seafarers Happiness Index (SHI) is a
initiatives. Brian Poskaitis, Senior Vice Pres- quarterly survey conducted by the Mission
ident, Fleet Operations (Baltimore/Annap- to Seafarers to gauge the sentiment of
olis) and Thomas Bremer, Vice President, seafarers at sea. The survey asks seafarers
Fleet Quality and Compliance (Baltimore/ around the world ten key questions about
Annapolis) gave participants an overview of various aspects of their life and work. Their
the Registry’s worldwide reach, highlighting anonymous answers provide valuable insights
the depth and range of the global inspec- into the challenges and opportunities facing
tions team. seafarers.
Regional overviews of PSC trends and data The latest SHI report reveals that overall sat-
were provided by Captain Theodore Lalas, isfaction levels among seafarers have fallen
to 7.1 out of 10 from 7.69/10 in Q4 2022.
Covering 10 key areas of life at sea, the report
identifies concerns surrounding access to
shore leave and onshore welfare services as
the most significant challenges facing sea-
farers. Between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, the
former fell from 6.76/10 to 6.23/10, while the
latter dropped from 7.41/10 to 6.49/10. On a
more positive note, the same period saw sat-
isfaction regarding onboard connectivity rise
from 7.4/10 to 7.56/10, reflecting a generally
positive response from seafarers on the abil-
ity to maintain contact with family.
The SHI report also identified several other
challenges facing seafarers, including a
growing wellness gap between companies
that provide health and well-being programs
and those that do not, access to dental care
in some ports but not others, and limited
access to mental health support, medical
advisory services, and physical well-being
consultations. Seafarers also expressed con-
cerns about salaries, the cost of living, and
potential obstacles to career advancement.

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