The World of the Seafarer

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Helen Sampson

   Pages 1-5Open Access

3. Going to Sea

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7

      PDF

   2. A Taste of the Sea: Artisanal Fishing Communities in the Philippines

      • Nelson Turgo

      Pages 9-22Open Access

   3. Recruiting and Managing Labour for the Global Shipping Industry in China

      • Zhiwei Zhao

      Pages 23-35Open Access

   4. Can the UK Tonnage Tax Minimum Training Obligation Address Declining Cadet Recruitment and Training in the UK?

      • Victor Oyaro Gekara

      Pages 37-49Open Access

   5. Careers at Sea: Exploring Seafarer Motivations and Aspirations

      • Polina Baum-Talmor

      Pages 51-63Open Access

   6. Women Seafarers: An Analysis of Barriers to Their Employment

      • Momoko Kitada

      Pages 65-76Open Access

4. Being at Sea

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 77-77

      PDF

   2. Transitions and Adjustments Made by Seafarers Whilst at Sea

      • Helen Devereux

      Pages 79-86Open Access

   3. The Rhythms of Shipboard Life: Work, Hierarchy, Occupational Culture and Multinational Crews

      • Helen Sampson

      Pages 87-98Open Access

   4. The Experience of Being a Filipino Seafarer on a Multinationally Crewed Ship

      • Iris Acejo

      Pages 99-111Open Access

   5. Environmental Management at Sea: What Being ‘Green’ Means for Seafarers

      • Ngwatung Akamangwa

      Pages 113-126Open Access

   6. Safety Aboard Chinese Vessels

      • Conghua Xue

      Pages 127-139Open Access

   7. Multiple Roles and Role Conflict: Seafarers As Economic, Humanitarian and Security Actors

      • Amaha Senu

      Pages 141-153Open Access

5. Support for Seafarers and Their Families

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 155-155

      PDF

   2. Union Organising in the Context of Regional Labour Market Decline: The Case of Nautilus International

      • Victor Oyaro Gekara

      Pages 157-171Open Access

   3. Trade Union Representation in the Philippines

      • Ralph Buiser

      Pages 173-187Open Access

   4. On-Line Support Groups for Families in China

      • Lijun Tang

      Pages 189-198Open Access

This open access book constitutes an ethnographic mosaic which depicts the contextual complexities of the life and work of seafarers who are employed in the international merchant cargo fleet. The collection is based upon the observations and interviews of researchers in multiple disciplines. It is woven together to offer a richly detailed insight into the ways in which a complex global industry operates internationally. The book covers issues to do with career decisions and recruitment, gender, life and work on board multinational vessels, health and safety issues, the regulation of the industry, shipboard roles and role conflict, and the representation of workers. It will be of considerable interest to all students globally who are studying for professional seafaring qualifications, to graduate students studying for masters courses in ship and port management, and to welfare professionals and policy makers. It is of special interest to those connected to the shipping industry who specialize in issues relating to 'the human element' and will serve as a paradigm defining text in this area.

• Seafarers
• Shipping
• Globalisation
• Global regulation
• Gender
• Multinational crews
• Maritime
• Cargo ships
• Trade unions
• Health and safety at sea
• Open Access

• School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chains, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

  Victor Oyaro Gekara

• Seafarers International Research Centre School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK

  Helen Sampson

Dr Gekara is Associate Professor in the College of Business and Law at RMIT University. His research expertise is in the area of skills development and workforce planning in the context of industrial transformations and the future of work. In this respect, he has undertaken research and published journal papers and book chapters on seafarer training and the changing global dynamics of skills development and  labour supply in the shipping sector. He is the co-founder and leader of the Skills, Training and Industry Research Group (STIRN) at RMIT, which develops and disseminates important research in the general area of skills, work and employment. 

Prof. Helen Sampson has studied the shipping industry and seafarers since 1999. Her research and publications in this area have focussed on: work; skills and training; regulation; corporate social responsibility; gender; transnationalism; structured social space; health and wellbeing; ship-shore interaction and the use of mandatory equipment. Helen has also contributed to debates on research methods and has published articles and chapters on: researcher risk; Delphi groups; pilot studies; real life vignettes; and accessing elites. She is interested in the emerging area of Human-Animal Studies (HAS) and has undertaken research on horse welfare in Wales and power relationships between horses and their keepers. In 2014 she won the British Sociological Association/BBC prize for Ethnography for her book International Seafarers and Transnationalism in the Twenty-First Century.