Today is a very special day. It is the day in which we celebrate, remember and look forward…all in the name of seafarers.

Life at sea has changed dramatically today compared to when Christopher Columbus and other seafarers took to the seas in the late 1400s. In those days life was unpredictable and those brave men took on the challenges to discover and concourse new places.

Depending on each individuals rank each seafarer will have his fare share of work on board the vessel. Responsibilities for each member must be carefully and accurately being done on board vessels since everyone is expected to do his duty without being supervised always.

Friday 25th of June was the IMO’s Day of the Seafarer - a day to celebrate seafarers, the job they do and why the world would be a lesser place without them. I spent the Day of the Seafarer over, and not on, the Indian Ocean which is the reason for my late posting.

Ships also need fuel, or bunkers, to sustain this world trade - so that is one common trait between seafarers and bunker fuel.

Have you ever stopped to wonder… who is up in that wheelhouse steering the ship? Where are they going? What are they transporting?

The voice of its operators, institutions and NGOs, the Port of Venice thanks the Seafares who, with their daily work, sustain world trade and passenger shipping.

Tomorrow, the 25th of June, is the Day of the Seafarer. What can we give on this occasion? Nothing much, just a simple prayer for all seafarers.

This Saturday sees the first Day of the Seafarer – an online campaign to bring awareness to the 1.5m mariners around the globe.

This also provides an opportunity to be specific about the issues facing seafarers.

These are people who spend weeks or months at a time out in the open ocean, with none other than the crew they sail with being the main reason we don’t hear about seafarers. This is also a form of isolation that they experience and need to be strong mentally to be able to cope with it.