Resilience and the human element: time to get stressed

The current debate about building resilience in merchant shipping is shifting the focus to see seafarers as part of the solution to safety rather than part of the problem. However, we first need to reverse falling levels of onboard expertise for this to be successful. Captain Yves Vandenborn, of The Standard Club, says lessons can be learned from the airline industry, with greater use of stress-exposure and simulator training

There are around 1.6 million seafarers on the world’s merchant ships, split roughly evenly between officers and ratings. While there is no shortage of unskilled ratings, the demand for skilled officers continues to outstrip supply. The inevitable consequence has been a lowering of standards as shipowners and operators struggle to fill officer roles.