Tackling the challenges of cultural differences onboard

The phenomenon of manning a ship with a culturally mixed crew is nothing new in the shipping industry. However, working along with mixed crews on board ships can easily lead to potential misunderstandings or miscommunication issues. As a result, shipping coropanies and operators need to provide cross-cultural training to every crewmember before boarding a vessel.

Given the matter of multi-nationaJ crews' employmeot, the industry must be well-prepared, in order to cape with manning diversity, while realize the hidden risks of mixed crews. Multiplicity of persons whose ethnicity involves differences, not only language but also culture and religion are a major challenge to overcome when facing prolonged periods of on board.

According to a study conducted by World Maritime University, cultural complexity on ships has become an issue of intensive attention, due to the fact that a growing number of maritime accidents are attributed to ineffective communication and misinterpretation of different behaviors on multilinguaJ and multicultural vessels.

"Seafaring professional culture, seafarers ' national cultures, shipping company organizational culture and the industry-hailed safety culture ali exert influences on seafarers ' individual altitudes, values, and team interactions and can lead to positive or negative performance on board ships." ... as World Mari time University stated.

What is more, it is observed that poor command of ENglish, wrong stereotyping, different understanding of safety/work culture and different attitude toward risk, can all lead to severe marine accidents and impact a sbip's operational performance.

"The development of cross-cultural competency is absent from the agenda of maritime education and training, despite the fact thal the shipping sector is highly globalized and the maritime labor market widely multicultural. "

ln addition, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Maritime Studies conducted a survey noting that companies should not only focus on the acquisition of appropriate technical skills for navigation and engineering, but also on the non-technical, i.e. soft skills, such as communication skills and intercultural competences and understanding of how culture can impact coromunication.

Therefore, it is of vital importance for shipping industry and the seafarers to tackle the challenges of cultural differences onboard, by taking into consideration the following points: boost a cultural awareness environment; develop a global mindset; practice of language skills; enhance intemational work experience; boost diverse social contacts; promote appreciation of cultural differences.

"Cultural differences should not separa/e us from each other, but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit ali of humanity. Intercultural dialogue is the best guarantee of a more peaceful, just and sustainable world." ... Robert Alan, American writer, artist and social activist noted.

(Adapted from: hnps://safety4sea.com/cm-tackling-thechallenges- of-culturnl-di1Terences-onboard/)

Read the text below and mark question.

The invasion ofUkraine is causing crisis at sea

Russian ships have nowhere to dock, and supply chains will suffer.

The United Kingdom has banned Russian ships from calling on its ports, and the European Union (EU) is about to do the sarne. Toe world's three largest shjpping lines wilI no longer call on Russian ports. Ukraine's ports are closed. Russian's invasion of Ukraine is wreaking havoc on global shipping, which transports 80 per cent of the world's trade. Ships are now sailing the oceans unable to detiver and pick up cargo while some 140 other merchant vessels are stuck in Ukrainian ports, at risk of corning under fire and with food and other provisions runrung low. The rest of the world should care about their desperate situation - if nothing else because the cargo they carry is crucial to our daily lives.

On March 1, the crude oil tanker NS Charnpion suddenly encountered an urgent problem. It was steering toward Scotland's Orkeney oil terminal. Like many other cargo vessels, the NS Champion saiIs under a Liberian flag, but it is owned by Sovcomflot, Russia's largest shipping company, and on Feb. 24 the U.S. government had placed the company under sanctions. Even so, the tanker had the right to make its next port of call, because sanctions don't affect ships that are already en route. But before it arrived, the British government announced it was immedfately closing U.K. ports to Russian vessels. The Champion had to sail on, oil undelivered, to its next port of call, Denmark's Port of Skagen.

Very soon, it won't be able to deliver its oil there either. The EU is expected to imrninently follow the U.K. 's lead and close its ports to vessels owned or operated by Russian companies or sailing under the Russian flag. Canada already has. Switzerland-based Mediterranean Srupping Company, the world's largest srupping company has announced that it's suspending ali container traffic to and from Russia So have the other two members of global shipping's top three, Denmark based Maersk and France's CMA CGM. Singapore-based Ocean Network Express and Germany's Hapag-Lloyd had already made similar announcements. Toe companies will only make humanitarian deliveries, usually understood as food and merucation.

That means Russia will be cut off from much of the world, able to send and receive goods only via primarily Asian shipping companies such as China's COSCO. Ukraine, meanwhiJe, has already been cut off Toe week before the invasion, maritime insurers red-listed tbe Russian and Ukrainian parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, making it difficult and expensive for sbips to sai! through the waters. When Russia invaded last month, Ukraine closed its ports. The country is already running low on oxygen and other merucal supplies.

(Adapted from· foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/07/ ulcraineshipping- supply-w ... )

Read the text below and mark question.

The invasion ofUkraine is causing crisis at sea

Russian ships have nowhere to dock, and supply chains will suffer.

The United Kingdom has banned Russian ships from calling on its ports, and the European Union (EU) is about to do the sarne. Toe world's three largest shjpping lines wilI no longer call on Russian ports. Ukraine's ports are closed. Russian's invasion of Ukraine is wreaking havoc on global shipping, which transports 80 per cent of the world's trade. Ships are now sailing the oceans unable to detiver and pick up cargo while some 140 other merchant vessels are stuck in Ukrainian ports, at risk of corning under fire and with food and other provisions runrung low. The rest of the world should care about their desperate situation - if nothing else because the cargo they carry is crucial to our daily lives.

On March 1, the crude oil tanker NS Charnpion suddenly encountered an urgent problem. It was steering toward Scotland's Orkeney oil terminal. Like many other cargo vessels, the NS Champion saiIs under a Liberian flag, but it is owned by Sovcomflot, Russia's largest shipping company, and on Feb. 24 the U.S. government had placed the company under sanctions. Even so, the tanker had the right to make its next port of call, because sanctions don't affect ships that are already en route. But before it arrived, the British government announced it was immedfately closing U.K. ports to Russian vessels. The Champion had to sail on, oil undelivered, to its next port of call, Denmark's Port of Skagen.

Very soon, it won't be able to deliver its oil there either. The EU is expected to imrninently follow the U.K. 's lead and close its ports to vessels owned or operated by Russian companies or sailing under the Russian flag. Canada already has. Switzerland-based Mediterranean Srupping Company, the world's largest srupping company has announced that it's suspending ali container traffic to and from Russia So have the other two members of global shipping's top three, Denmark based Maersk and France's CMA CGM. Singapore-based Ocean Network Express and Germany's Hapag-Lloyd had already made similar announcements. Toe companies will only make humanitarian deliveries, usually understood as food and merucation.

That means Russia will be cut off from much of the world, able to send and receive goods only via primarily Asian shipping companies such as China's COSCO. Ukraine, meanwhiJe, has already been cut off Toe week before the invasion, maritime insurers red-listed tbe Russian and Ukrainian parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, making it difficult and expensive for sbips to sai! through the waters. When Russia invaded last month, Ukraine closed its ports. The country is already running low on oxygen and other merucal supplies.

(Adapted from· foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/07/ ulcraineshipping- supply-w ... )

Read the text below and mark question.

The invasion ofUkraine is causing crisis at sea

Russian ships have nowhere to dock, and supply chains will suffer.

The United Kingdom has banned Russian ships from calling on its ports, and the European Union (EU) is about to do the sarne. Toe world's three largest shjpping lines wilI no longer call on Russian ports. Ukraine's ports are closed. Russian's invasion of Ukraine is wreaking havoc on global shipping, which transports 80 per cent of the world's trade. Ships are now sailing the oceans unable to detiver and pick up cargo while some 140 other merchant vessels are stuck in Ukrainian ports, at risk of corning under fire and with food and other provisions runrung low. The rest of the world should care about their desperate situation - if nothing else because the cargo they carry is crucial to our daily lives.

On March 1, the crude oil tanker NS Charnpion suddenly encountered an urgent problem. It was steering toward Scotland's Orkeney oil terminal. Like many other cargo vessels, the NS Champion saiIs under a Liberian flag, but it is owned by Sovcomflot, Russia's largest shipping company, and on Feb. 24 the U.S. government had placed the company under sanctions. Even so, the tanker had the right to make its next port of call, because sanctions don't affect ships that are already en route. But before it arrived, the British government announced it was immedfately closing U.K. ports to Russian vessels. The Champion had to sail on, oil undelivered, to its next port of call, Denmark's Port of Skagen.

Very soon, it won't be able to deliver its oil there either. The EU is expected to imrninently follow the U.K. 's lead and close its ports to vessels owned or operated by Russian companies or sailing under the Russian flag. Canada already has. Switzerland-based Mediterranean Srupping Company, the world's largest srupping company has announced that it's suspending ali container traffic to and from Russia So have the other two members of global shipping's top three, Denmark based Maersk and France's CMA CGM. Singapore-based Ocean Network Express and Germany's Hapag-Lloyd had already made similar announcements. Toe companies will only make humanitarian deliveries, usually understood as food and merucation.

That means Russia will be cut off from much of the world, able to send and receive goods only via primarily Asian shipping companies such as China's COSCO. Ukraine, meanwhiJe, has already been cut off Toe week before the invasion, maritime insurers red-listed tbe Russian and Ukrainian parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, making it difficult and expensive for sbips to sai! through the waters. When Russia invaded last month, Ukraine closed its ports. The country is already running low on oxygen and other merucal supplies.

(Adapted from· foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/07/ ulcraineshipping- supply-w ... )