'Seafarers deserve respect and recognition. Let us resolve, during 2010, to ensure that this message is trumpeted loud and clear'

摘要

And so this is the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) 'Year of the Seafarer' and it is not before time. Few people realise just how important and valuable a role seafarers play in the global economy and in helping to drive world trade, which is the bastion of many countries' economies. But it goes much deeper than this, as seafarers affect the very fabric of world society. How many people realise, for instance, that commodities from the footwear on their feet to the clothes that they wear and, increasingly, the food that they eat, will have travelled at least part of the journey by ship. That cargo will, therefore, have been in the trusted hands of the humble seafarer.