After a long haul at sea sailors look forward to a warm welcome at home. Often their expectations are not met. A common lament is, 'we are made to wait and our concerns are not heard.' One comes across their grouses against the indifferent treatment meted out to them by shore based support staff.


Shipping companies on their part have long become conscious of this dissatisfaction from their floating staff and are going the extra mile to erase the perception that a floating staff is treated indifferently. Also, shipping companies seem to have committed to have an open door policy. No sailor can complain that that they no have access to the Chief Executive or to any of the subordinates, since almost everywhere one can witness that the CEO's door is wide open to permit access to anyone who requires it. Notwithstanding this magnanimous gesture, we must pay heed to anyone who says that treatment to a seafarer is dissatisfactory.



Companies describe seafarers as the prime bread and butter winners. They say that ship owners can buy ships but cannot run them without them. It may even sound over zealous when some shore based executives say, 'seafarers and their families together with the shore based employees and their families make the whole family. They are our past, present, and future.' Asked pointedly why is it important to show special care to sailors when they visit the shore office, Captain Birendra Jha of Mitsui OSK Lines says, “every seafarer irrespective of rank is a professional, and the person deserves all due respect. “ He avers, “Giving fair treatment to a person who comes to your door is not just a professional obligation but part of culture and civility.”




Mr. Sudip Shome, Director, D'amico Tankers, India says, “seafarers are very much an integral part of our business and it would be preposterous to think we can do anything to make them think otherwise.” After all, when a floating staff visits his shore office, he does not cease to be an employee of the organization. Quite a lot of companies these days are doing their bit to flaunt the caring culture. They want to be extra cautious about conveying the right message to the outside world. They would after all not want employees and other associates to speak anything but the right things about them.



To whatever extent individual companies may go to, to assist their floating staff, an odd seafarer may still grumble, 'the people on shore do not understand the rigours we face. It's utterly unfair when some officers simply do not want to listen.' Mr. M. Srinath of Barber Ship Management advocates, “we have a satisfaction survey every quarter and each deviance is dealt with forthwith.' Interventions such as these may not be commonplace, but this industry is genuine in its efforts to provide comfort to its seafarers. It is endearing to witness polite staffers come out to wish visitors and offer them the basic courtesies. Companies are also realizing the importance of not keeping anyone waiting, and ensure that an officer attends to each visitor at the earliest. Having a suggestion box is also a practice followed by quite a few companies.



So what is the kind of treatment meted out to seafarers while on shore these days? Capt. Deshwal offers, “firstly, we do not want our seafarers especially when they are on leave to visit the office unless absolutely essential.” He adds, “off course whenever they do visit us, we do everything possible to make them comfortable and we do whatever it takes to sort out their concerns.” Mr. Srinath, says, “it's like homecoming for our sailing staff when they visit the office. Besides the usual refreshments and courtesies, we also take our time to offer career counseling, as we believe this bit of help would go a long way. We have a practice of ensuring that every need is attended to in the shortest time possible.”