Day of the Seafarer

Ladies and gentlemen, As we begin a new year, the COVID-19 pandemic still holds sway, with many countries subject to lockdowns and travel restrictions.

The development of various vaccines offers the first gleams of hope, although for many seafarers, the situation is still desperate. Hundreds of thousands cannot leave ships; whilst many others cannot join. Abandonment of seafarers reached record levels in 2020. This humanitarian crisis threatens global trade and safe navigation.

Young people are being encouraged to enter the profession of seafaring, as the world pays keener attention to the essential service provided by seamen and seafaring women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dean of the Faculty of Marine and Nautical Studies at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), Captain Devron Newman, explains to JIS News, the process of  how seafarers are produced from a maritime education and training perspective.

An estimated 2,000 litres of heavy crude oil had flowed into the sea at Gordon Cay.

The ship should have left the Port of Kingston on Friday but has been prevented from doing so.

Director of the Environmental Management and Conservation Division at National Environment and Planning Agency, Anthony McKenzie, told The Gleaner on Sunday that the agency took out an enforcement order against the ship and its local agent Perez y Cia Jamaica, barring the vessel from leaving port until the full cleanup costs have been determined.

Jamaica has provided greater protection for persons working in the hospitality division of passenger ships, such as bartenders, stewards and nail technicians, under the Shipping (Amendment) Act.

The legislation, which has been passed in both Houses of Parliament, has been amended to expand the definition of seafarers to include these categories of workers.

Jamaica joins the rest of the world in observing the 10^th anniversary of the Day of the Seafarer, which is observed globally on June 25.

Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, on Thursday, June 24, Dean of the Faculty of Marine and Nautical Studies at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), Captain Devron Newman, explained that a number of activities will be held to mark the occasion.

Captain Newman, who is Chairman of the Day of the Seafarer Planning Committee said that a virtual panel discussion will be held on June 25 under the theme ‘Partnership and Collaboration, the Future of Seafaring’.