In an exclusive interview with SAFETY4SEA, Capt. Rajesh Unni Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Synergy Marine Group, discussed key issues surrounding life onboard as well as the existing and future challenges for seafarers. In this regard, he referred on how the rising automation is expected to create new demands on skills in IT, communications, and engineering, noting that the core skills of seafarers will remain the same and the use of more technology will make difference. What is more, the demands for highly skilled and specialized crew will eventually intensify, thus the industry needs to prepare for developing new skills for future crews, he added. Capt. Unni also noted that mental health has risen as a major topic in the maritime industry in the last years; at the same time suicide incidents onboard have risen, which is a matter of grave concern. In this context, Capt. Unni talked about the company’s iCALL helpline, a completely confidential psychological helpline for seafarers which provides counseling support in nine different languages via phone, email and a chat-based App.
SAFETY4SEA: What would you say are the current and future seafarer manning concerns?
Capt. Rajesh Unni: Our current generation has numerous concerns when considering shipping as a potential career. The industry’s inability to provide suitable financial rewards and career longevity remains one of the top concerns. Also, the recent negative publicity the industry has generated related to safety, environmental protection, crew abandonment and criminalization of seafarers before they stand trial, are all serious deterrents to a career at sea. The romanticism of youth towards seafaring has diminished to a great extent, as there are more ways to ‘see the world,’ which incidentally was the tagline which drew me to this career. Seafaring is a respectable and lucrative profession, and we need to continue to promote it that way.
The sophisticated technology on board vessels as well as operational innovations, is creating new demands on skills in IT, communications, and engineering. The excitement of working in often unpredictable operational environments on board diverse ship types which are on varying trades is something which needs to be conveyed to the next generation for them to consider seafaring as a career option.
S4S: Is the industry doing enough to raise awareness about seafarers’ health? What is your feedback so far?
Capt.R.U.: I think the industry has been giving this burning issue the importance it deserves. I also feel that public attitude towards mental illness is moving in the right direction. The stigma attached mental illness is slowly eroding, and those suffering are more likely than ever before to speak out and seek help. Raising awareness is one part and getting to the root cause and addressing it is the other.
Towards the end of 2019, we shall publish a report, which amongst other things would provide us insights in to the age group of the callers, the five most common stressors/ primary issues which seafarers discuss, duration of calls, calls vs. emails break up thematic break-up, linguistic break-up, genuine vs. irrelevant calls amongst a host of other parameters. I am really keen on using those insights to help bring about a tangible change. I sincerely believe we are trying to address a problem in a systemic manner. And, we will continue to look forward to receiving feedback on how to improve so that a larger section of our community may benefit from this endeavor.
S4S What should be industry’s key priorities for crew members onboard with respect to wellness at sea?
Capt.R.U.: The industry has strict regulations to comply regarding seafarers’ work and rest hours. But I feel we should have systems in place to ensure that the regulations are always adhered by, without any operational or commercial pressures. This I believe, would help improve both physical and mental fatigue, which is the key to wellness!
S4S: How is digital technology changing the seafarers’ role? What changes can we expect up to 2030?
Capt.R.U.: I must emphasize that a cyber-enabled ship, doesn’t necessarily mean an unmanned ship. Synergy, in fact, took delivery of the first ship to be classed with Lloyd’s Register’s Cyber AL-SAFE notation certifying the autonomous systems onboard as safe. Simply put, the difference is that seafarers’ will also need to be digitally native. I believe that soon the boundary between a man, machine and computer network will only get blurred.
How does 2030 look to me? The core skills of seafarers – those of good seamanship and (independent) problem solving and resilience will continue to remain the same. The only difference would be the use of more technology that will augment operations on board a vessel from analog, disjointed systems into smart digital enterprises to aid rather than to replace the seafarer’s knowledge.
S4S: How is the crew responding to the use of new technologies onboard. How can they be better prepared?
Capt.R.U.: I would take the example of ECDIS here. I vividly remember the seafarers’ resistance to the use of ECDIS, but things have come around, and we now know that the introduction of ECDIS helped ease the paper workload and facilitated easy planning and monitoring, real-time information availability, etc. I think it all boils down to training and support.
The modern seafarer must not be treated as mere content consumers, but as a resource, capable of sharing inputs that would enhance learning, for both, the sea staff as well as the facilitator. Empowering our sea staff – providing them with tools, resources, processes and enabling them with new technology, is the future of seafaring and maritime training.
As shipping becomes more technical, the demands for highly skilled and specialized crew will intensify. More learning will need to be done on the job, and all of us will have to be prepared to develop new skills outside our comfort zone.
I see a lot of virtual reality being used in innovative training pieces. Placing seafarers in realistic scenarios under similar pressures and training games perhaps would blur the lines between actual onboard situations and experiential, memorable and fast learning.
The simulation will also allow seafarers to be trained for worst-case scenarios onboard, which don’t happen often but require a clear-cut plan. It’s costly to replicate an environment for training based on situations onboard which rarely happen, so, why not have our seafarers simulate that? We also save a bunch of money, that way.
S4S: Tell us a few words about your organization’s iCALL helpline; what are the background and key drivers behind this initiative?
Capt.R.U Recent studies have shown that suicide rates are among the highest in the seafaring community. 5.9% of all deaths at sea are proven suicides. If the suspicious cases of probable suicides – seafarers that went missing at sea – are considered, then this figure jumps to 18.3% which means almost one in five deaths at sea is a suicide. By any standards, this is a matter of grave concern. Compare this to deaths ashore, where only 1% of deaths are attributable to suicides. There is no disputing we have a genuine problem at hand, which cannot just be wished away.
Mental health issues remain stigmatic and taboo in Asia, the source of the majority of the world’s seafarers today. Within these societies, it is unfortunately viewed as a sign of weakness and guilt and hence shamed upon. That’s how the idea of ‘iCall’ for seafarers and the global maritime community large came into being. ICALL is a free and completely confidential psychological helpline for the worldwide maritime community. The counselling is provided in nine different languages via phone, email and the chat-based nULTA App. We believe it is our responsibility to take care of our community. Synergy is happy to partner with TISS to steer this project.
S4S: If you had to pinpoint one defining challenge for shipping over the next 10 years, what would it be?
Capt.R.U.: For me, that challenge would be Environmental. In recent times the environmental requirements have increased considerably. I would say it’s more of a minefield for most owners and operators. There are several other regulations which are in political debate and rightly so! CO2 reduction, Ballast water management, and ship recycling would continue to be the most defining challenges in the next decade.
S4S: What is your key message to industry stakeholders with respect to a healthier working environment onboard?
Capt.R.U.: Although ships and the facilities onboard, including adequate accommodation have improved in every respect, there remain a great number of physical and psychosocial stresses which affect seafarers. Fatigue continues to remain a major challenge, and I feel work-rest hours are the key to addressing this challenge. Industry stakeholders need to do more on this. Apart from this, given that the average age of seafarers is going up – the use of technology for health surveillance of our seafarers onboard is crucial. Adequate diet and recreation at sea are of course important to maintain a work-life balance.
S4S: What is your key message to the young seamen with respect to their career in the maritime industry?
Capt.R.U.:I have always emphasized that hard work is the key to success. Empathy, integrity and good work ethics will help youngsters go a long way in any chosen career. The maritime industry is no exception. Seafarers have always enjoyed great camaraderie. It is their secret to a fulfilling career. My key message to young seamen is; enjoy your work, respect your team, have fun and uphold the values, spirit and traditions of seafaring!
Did you know?
Synergy’s iCALL currently has 14 counselors all located at Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai to ensure peer support, supervision, and standard professional counseling service. All the counselors have at least a Master’s degree in Clinical or Counselling Psychology. All counselors receive three months of specialist training to help treat issues such as emotional distress, relationship, and family concerns, domestic violence, suicidal thoughts, sexual and reproductive health, body image concerns and work-life anxieties.
The views presented hereabove are only those of the author and not necessarily those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
About Capt. Rajesh Unni, Founder & CEO of Synergy Marine Group
Capt. Rajesh Unni is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Synergy Marine Group. Capt. Unni graduated from LBS College of Advanced Maritime Studies & Research, Mumbai as a Class 1 Master Mariner. Education being his enduring passion, he recently completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) of Harvard Business School, Executive Education. As an influential thought leader, he serves on the board of North of England P&I Association, Asia-Pacific Advisory Committee of major classification societies, and Indian National Ship Owners’ Association (INSA). As a key investor, he also leads Synergy’s foray into sectors beyond the maritime industry. A leading philanthropist, Capt. Unni is a Trustee of Cochin Cancer Society that supports poor and needy cancer patients, with a special focus on children. He has also spearheaded Synergy’s social responsibility initiative: Synergy Educational and Charitable Trust (SECT) – focused on alleviating poverty, eradicating hunger, and empowering women as also local communities for a better future. He is a strategic thought partner with Ashoka, one of the world’s leading not for profit organization, and recently has been nominated to the board of Gandhigram Rural Institute – Mahatma Gandhi’s vision to provide rural children access to education.