The Tristar Group’s Safety at Sea conference in Dubai saw active engagement last November 10 from top diplomats, maritime industry veterans, safety and welfare experts and professional seafarers’ organisations. The event also recorded participation from crew members on board vessels, and maritime workers at Indian seafarer centres in Mumbai and New Delhi, through live streaming.
Now in its 7th edition, the annual event drew attention to the mental health and emotional welfare of men and women who work at sea, through the inter-connected topics of leadership and incident prevention initiatives.
Eugene Mayne, founder and Group CEO of Tristar, explained how a tribute to honour two sailors who died at sea grew into an international forum, in a mere six years: “The growth is certainly impressive. Safety at Sea has become an important platform for direct dialogue between seafarers and stakeholders who play a role in the safety and well-being of people who work in the maritime industry.”
In his welcome address, he urged seafarers to reinforce their personal margins of safety to be able to act with clarity and strength, and just as critically, to extend it. “When you tend to your own reserves and are able to offer refuge to others, you are not just being a good seafarer, you are reinforcing the foundation of maritime operational safety,” he advised them.
In his special address, Satish Kumar Sivan, Consul General of India in Dubai, highlighted the strong and longstanding maritime connections between India and the UAE, which he said is not only strategic, but deeply human. “The men and women who work at sea are our living bridge, they are the ones who keep our trade flowing,” he said. “They endure long months away from home to ensure that global supply chains remain intact. It is for them – all these seafarers – that we gather here today, and we are thankful to Tristar.”
In a subsequent address, Dr Grahaeme Henderson, President of the Conference and Chair of Together in Safety explained the rationale of the event’s theme, ‘Get Safety Right, Get Everything Right’. “Getting our safety programmes right is vital for the future success of any shipping company in the world,” he said.
“Safety at Sea is a very unique global forum – it allows all of us to develop a mindset of learning from each other, and enables different teams to collaborate, and deliver solutions to many maritime challenges,” he added.
An interactive workshop on well-being and care was conducted by Anna Myrilla, Co-founder and Advisor of Learning Seaman, and Stella Kiss, General Manager and Clinical Psychologist of Mental Health Support Solutions. Several crew members currently serving on board vessels participated in the workshop.
Source: Tristar Group
