Today, we live in a society supported by a global economy, which simply could not function if it were not for shipping. Shipping serves global trade by carrying huge quantities of cargo, all over the world, cost-effectively, cleanly and safely.

Establishing a sustainable maritime transportation sector is essential to the development and growth of the world’s economy.

Despite the current global economic downturn, demand for shipping services over time will continue to rise. Today, international trade has evolved to the point where almost no nation can be fully self-sufficient. Every country is involved, at one level or another, in the process of selling what it produces and acquiring what it lacks: none can be dependent only on its domestic resources. Shipping has always provided the only really cost-effective method of bulk transport over any great distance, and the development of shipping and the establishment of a global system of trade are inextricably linked.

But if the world depends on a safe, secure and efficient shipping industry, the shipping industry, in turn, is dependent on an adequate supply of seafarers to operate the ships that carry the essential cargoes we all rely on.

But this supply of manpower is by no means guaranteed. A shortfall of seafarer recruits, below the number required to sustain the industry has long been predicted. And, while we have yet to see that shortfall materialize in such a way as to harm the industry, the warning signs are there for all to see.

Today, more than ever, seafaring is a job that demands highly trained and qualified personnel: people who have the courage, strength and determination to spend long periods of time away from home; and the professional competence and wherewithal to respond to the hazards and challenges that the sea and the weather might throw at them.