Ghana Joins The World To Mark International Day Of The Seafarer

Ghana has marked this year's International Day of the Seafarer with a promise to commence the issuance of Biometric Discharge Books to Ghanaian seafarers from July 2018.

This year's celebration was on the theme: 'Seafarers Wellbeing-Emphasis On The Mental Health'.

Mr Kwame Owusu, Director-General, Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), announcing the commencement of the issuance of the Biometric Discharge Books said 'although the associated cost of it is much higher than the non-biometric one, the Authority realizes the hardship of our seafarers and will maintain the cost as that of the old discharge books'.

Mr Owusu added that the GMA had fully complied with the requirements of the 2010 Manila Amendments to the STCW (Standard of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers) Convention leading to Ghanaian seafarers being issued with biometric seafarer certificates.

He noted that discussions were on-going with service providers to introduce an online verification system for the seafarers which would eliminate delays, as well as address verification issues by the international shipping community who operated at different time zones.

According to him, his outfit was also in the process of finalizing a Cabotage regulations that would ensure that certain amount of jobs within Ghana waters including the offshore were reserved for Ghanaian seafarers.

He indicated that the role of the seafarer in maritime transportation could not be over-emphasized as about 1.5 million of them provided the labour force that literally kept the global economy moving.

Mr Owusu called on all stakeholders and the public to recognize the tremendous sacrifices they made for the survival of everybody as they worked under very hazardous conditions.

Captain Dallas Laryea, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa-Anglophone, on his part, explained that the Day of the Seafarer was recognized by the United Nations as an observance day and IMO being the UN specialized agency responsible for regulating the safety, security and protection of the marine environment from ship based sources, sets out an area of focus for shipping community each year.

Captain Laryea mentioned that seafarers were exposed to various mental, psychological and physical stresses such as separation from family and loved ones, diversity, fatigue, work pressures, heat and vibration as well as dealing with a tough job in difficult circumstances which could have a toll on their body, mind and soul.

'In addition, more automation on vessels means less crew to man them and so fewer people to interact with in the middle of the ocean and at the same time, improving facilities such as handheld devices and the availability of wi-fi means seafarers are increasingly spending their available free time alone in their cabins rather than interacting with their fellow seafarers,' he added.

He called on vessel owners and managers to be aware of all the problems contributing to the seafarers' wellbeing and encourage the seafarers to report issues with mental health before they manifested into incidents.

Captain Catherine Haizel, Senior Lecturer, Nautical Science Department, Regional Maritime University, Captain Vivian Amegavi, Representative of the Women at Sea, and other speakers reiterated the challenges faced by seafarers especially women and suggested ways to improve their welfare at sea.

Some seafarers during the open forum lamented on how some embassies especially the American Embassy denied seafarers visa needed to travel to join a vessel at the ports in the United States of America.

They also complained about the Manning Agencies making unlawful deductions from their salaries and giving them meagre wages while they received huge sums of money on their behalf from hiring companies.

According to them, the GMA also unduly delayed issuance and signing of their certificates resulting to their inability to take advantage of opportunities as some out of frustration retired prematurely.