Seafarers and growing environmental concerns: to comply or not to comply - choices and practices

Abou-Elkawam, M. 2011. Seafarers and growing environmental concerns: to comply or not to comply - choices and practices. Presented at: Seafarers International Research Centre Symposium 2011, Seafarers International Research Centre Symposium Proceedings (2011). Cardiff, UK: Seafarers International Research Centre, pp. 33-45.

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Abstract

This paper reports on my tracking of the mobility and multiplicity of seafarers’ perceptions in their journey from the normality of ‘dumping at sea’ practices to more responsible environmental behaviours. It focuses, in part, on how seafarers perceive the marine pollution and their aspirations to protect their own countries’ marine and coastal environments. The arguments presented in this paper are based on a wider qualitative study that involved talking to seafarers worldwide in different work settings (i.e. shipping companies) and working onboard fleets trading in various parts of the world. Whilst marine pollution is depicted by seafarers as a ‘beast’ that needs mitigation, they are still divided on the optimum way forward. They assign some blame for pollution to new entrants to the profession, to uneducated, untrained, or ignorant seafarers, to some shipping companies, and even to some countries for not adopting appropriate or adequate environmental programmes to protect their marine and coastal environments. Such themes emerged from the data gathered by conducting qualitative semi-structured interviews with seafarers from different countries, companies, and areas of trade. Moreover, interviewees in this study are frequently resorting to ‘demographic based’ backgrounds prioritising how preventing marine pollution from ships could save their countries’ coasts, beaches and shorelines and how this would reflect on their national economy and children’s health. This paper aims to trace the source of what could be termed ‘environmental integrity’ perceptions and to contribute in uncovering the motivations, interests and difficulties faced by seafarers in relation to compliance practices with MARPOL as an exemplary marine environmental convention.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Seafarers International Research Centre (SIRC)
Publisher:	Seafarers International Research Centre
ISBN:	1900174391
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	6 March 2024
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2024 22:11
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/166912

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