How do the wars affect Merchant Navy ?
In this article we will discuss about how do the wars affect Merchant Navy and its effects on the lives of the seafarers in detail.
Importance of Merchant Navy :
(1) Merchant Navy indulges in transporting around 95 % of the global trade.
(2) It is the cheapest way of transporting goods from one country to another country.
(3) All this becomes possible because of the hard work put in by the seafarers.
(4) The seafarers not only go through the physical and mental pain but also has to face the wrath of the sea on daily basis.
(5) Though the seafarers face all these challenges but they still make the international trade possible.
(6) And that is why seafarers are the international treasure.
(7) But, nowadays there are international wars are going around the globe and it has certainly made the seafarers life miserable.
Effects of wars on Merchant Navy :
(1) Firstly, the merchant ships try to avoid going into the war zones but the commercial aspect of the shipping, provokes the ship operators in doing just the same.
(2) This puts the ship and the life of seafarers in danger.
(3) The ships sailing through the war zones might become the target of the missiles shot by the war indulging countries.
(4) These missiles not only damage the ship’s property & the cargo but also could take the lives of the ship’s crew.
(5) The seafarers also live in the fear of getting struck by missile or by a bomb at any time.
(6) This takes a toll on the mental health of the seafarers.
(7) The international wars also affect the sign on and sign off formalities of the seafarers.
(8) This leads to the automatic extension in the contracts of the seafarers.
(9) Which in turn affects the well being of the seafarers as well as their families.
(10) Also the seafarers who are at home, can’t join the ship and they go through longer periods of unemployment.
(11) Merchant ships at the war zones also leads to logistics failure.
(12) This affects the normal operation of the ships in merchant navy.
Also read : How do the ships survive Bad weather at sea ?
How can seafarers deal with the wars in Merchant Navy :
(1) If possible avoid joining the ships who are sailing in the war zones.
(2) The company can’t send the seafarer on a ship sailing in the war zone without his consent.
(3) The seafarer has the option of saying No to this.
(4) If due to financial circumstances the seafarer can’t say No, then he is left at the mercy of his luck.
(5) Once the seafarer joins the ship, he can’t interfere in the ship’s voyage orders.
Hello. This is Alkesh Patil. I am a Marine Engineer with 10+ years of experience in Merchant Navy. In this blog, I will try to provide some basic information about merchant navy and life onboard ship.
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