This time of the year always gives a great opportunity to consider lessons learned and set new year’s resolutions for new beginnings. For that matter, Mr. Darryl Anderson, Executive Director, Mercy Ships Canada, makes an assessment of 2021 and shares his message for the new year across the global maritime community.
SAFETY4SEA: How would you briefly describe 2021? What is your assessment?
Darryl Anderson: Exigent.
S4S: What were the lessons learned for the maritime industry in 2021 and what to keep for the new year moving forwards?
DA: The maritime sector is resilient in responding to the ever-increasing complexity in supply chains, international market conditions, technological changes, energy sector developments and needs for increased environmental sustainability. However, we need to work harder at ensuring that the costs of being resilient are not disproportionately borne by the most vulnerable members of the sector, such as seafarers or drayage drivers.
S4S: Focusing on your area of expertise, what do you think that will be the biggest challenge(s) for the industry in 2022?
DA: Mitigating the impacts of the bullwhip effect on supply chains as physical supply and demand adjust in response to inflationary economic headwinds, global trade frictions and rising environmental, social and governance expectations and labor and equipment availability.
S4S: What would be the new year’s resolutions for your organization?
DA: Continue to place our values and people at the heart of decision-making on growing and scaling our operations as we pursue our vision and mission.
S4S: What are you looking forward to in 2022? What would you be most glad about seeing changing in the maritime industry next year?
DA: Mobilizing as many Canadian volunteers as possible to serve on our hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, as it returns to Senegal and the inaugural deployment of Mercy Ships’ newest vessel, the Global Mercy.
S4S: If you could make one wish for the maritime industry for the year to come, what would you ask for?
DA: That all seafarers be treated with the dignity they deserve, in working conditions that are healthy and for wages that reflect the benefits that international trade has brought to consumers.
* * * New Year’s Resolutions for the Maritime Industry * * *
In 2022,
- We need to repeat… how vital it is to bring the importance of the maritime industry and the sector’s issues to the general public, consumers, and policymakers so better short and long-term decisions that impact the industry can be made.
- We need to lose… the attitude that the maritime industry is not an attractive sector for young people to build a meaningful career for themselves and society.
- We need to gain… a stronger desire to adapt and change some of our traditional practices, become more agile, adapt to the profound changes occurring in the sector, and remain attractive to the next generation of talent.
- We can succeed by… taking a mid to long-term view of the situation in which we will be operating while simultaneously balancing short-term commercial pressures and expectations in our decision-making actions.
The views presented are only those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
