UNDER PRESSURE

摘要

The advent of social media means major incidents at sea require a whole new level of disaster management and troubleshooting. Camera phones plugged directly to the Internet combined with websites such asTwitterorYouTube allow concerned citizens to exert pressure on local politicians, who may then feel obligated to intervene in or expedite a salvage process. London Offshore Consultancy (LOC) Singapore's Jonathan Walker points out that the average person on the street is a lot more environmentally aware than in the past, meaning that both governments and companies can see their reputations impacted by public opinion on their actions. "There is a lot of pressure on the authorities to respond to things that they wouldn't have had to before because of public pressure from social media. In some cases the owner of the ship is not yet aware of an incident and it is generating views on YouTube," he told The Marine Professional. "So politicians are looking to get the situation in hand as quickly as possible, but speed is not always the best solution - and neither is the most expensive course of action. Every case is unique and you need to assess the ins and outs of the situation carefully."