Send us a text Guests: Captain Brendan O’Shannassy – Superyacht Captain and maritime safety advocateLaura Beard – Welfare of Yacht Crew Project Manager, International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN)“Mental health is health. It’s just the same.” Brendan O’Shannassy Hosts: Julia Gosling – Host, Sea Views PodcastAdam Parnell – Director, CHIRP MaritimeEpisode Summary: In this powerful and practical episode of Sea Views, we explore the vital topic of mental health and welf...
Send us a text In this compelling episode of Sea Views, Julia and Adam sit down with Daniel Smith, founder of the charity NeurodiversAtSea, to explore what neurodiversity really means in the maritime world—and why it's time the industry took notice. Together, they unpack: What neurodiversity is and why it mattersHow life at sea can both challenge and empower neurodivergent individualsThe business case for neurodiversity—productivity, innovation, and retentionThe realities of recruitment and h...
Send us a text Ensuring Safety in Offshore Energy: Industry Insights and Future Challenges. In this episode of the Sea Views podcast, Graham Skinner of Offshore Energies UK and Pete Lowson from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency discuss safety practices in the offshore oil, gas, and wind industries. They delve into the industry’s safety records, the importance of cross-sector collaboration, and the impact of new technologies such as AI and autonomous vessels. NEWSFLASH! If you l...
Send us a text Exploding Myths - Vapour clouds, explosion and new frontiers in firefighting. Lithium Ion Batteries, Boats & Danger! In this episode, Adam and I welcome the leading expert on lithium ion battery safety Professor Paul Christensen to talk about the increasingly topical issue of managing the risks of lithium ion batteries in the maritime and port environment. Lithium ion batteries have quickly become part of life now in electric vehicles and e scooters for example...
Send us a text Safe at Sea Allyship & Psychological Safety Sea Views is spotlighting the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network’s (ISWAN) global campaign: "Safe at Sea… it takes all of us!" – with a focus on the crucial role male seafarers can play as allies to support their women colleagues. Women seafarers are more than three times as likely to contact ISWAN’s helplines regarding abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination, or violence – and more than twice as likely to...
Send us a text Safety In Focus at Portsmouth International Port. In this episode Ben McInnes, Harbour Master at the busy Portsmouth International Port explains how safety, innovation and decarbonisation is key to port operations: It’s a very busy harbour with cruise vessels, super yachts, hovercraft, passenger and RO-RO ferries, cargo ships, an inshore fishing fleet, leisure sailors and Royal Navy vessels. How does he keep passengers, seafarers, port staff and the harbour pilots safe?...
Send us a text Every year, at least 32,000 fishers lose their lives at sea—out of a global workforce of 39 million. We speak with Alan McCulla, OBE, Coordinator of the International Fund For Fishing Safety (IFFS), about global efforts to make fishing safer. Alan shares how IFFS is funding life-saving innovations and programs across the world. In the push towards proving sustainability in this global seafood industry, how much attention is on the people in fishing and their welfare and safety?...
Send us a text Over 31 million people took a cruise last year. The global cruise market continues to grow, with more vessels launching every year and a revenue forecast for 26% growth in the next 5 years. We talk with Captain Aseem Hashmi, master of the iconic Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 about safety and the changes he has experienced and implemented over his 30 year career. The cruise sector has seen a long term trend in reduction of operational accidents and we ask Aseem for his analysis o...
Send us a text As the maritime industry pushes toward decarbonisation, what does it mean for the people on board? A new report explores the impact of green fuel transitions on seafarers—and the findings are sobering. While most seafarers support the move to reduce emissions, the reality on board tells a more complex story. We speak with Chirag Bahri from ISWAN and Ian Grainger from The Shipowners’ Club to unpack what 400 seafarers around the world are saying. From increased workloads to risin...
Send us a text BRIDGE SAFETY “It's absolutely astonished me how far we've gone with this technology and how far we are going... using Virtual Reality training solutions” Captain Andrew Parker, Director Ankar Maritime Safety Bridge safety is our topic for this episode of Sea Views. We explore what advancements in safety and training we are benefiting from with new technology like Virtual Reality for training solutions, bridge simulators and remote bridge safety audits. Captai...
Send us a text INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF SHIPPING - A global perspective “We recognise there is a global recruitment challenge for shipping and we forecast a shortfall of 90,000 seafarers by 2026.” Guy Platten, Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping We cover a fascinating range of current and future issues from recruitment challenges, to piracy and security and the criminalisation of the seafarer. Guy spoke about decarbonisation and estimates there are 800,000 seafarers who...
Send us a text “AI could help us identify fresh patterns of risk in our data on port safety before the serious accidents even happen.” Debbie Cavaldoro, CEO at Port Skills & Safety The port is the interface between ships and land. Two interlinked but separate workforces must understand each other’s operations in order to interact safely and that is the role for the organisation Port Skills & Safety. Julia and Adam are in conversation with their Chief Executive Debbie Caval...
Send us a text In this episode of Sea Views podcast I am talking with the CEO’s of two vital charities which support seafarers who have suffered sexual violence. Becky Newdick founded Safer Waves and Paula Edwards runs Salute Her UK. We recorded this episode during the recent campaign by the World Health Organisation “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”. We talk about how prevalent the issue is for women working at sea especially, and why this job puts seafa...
Send us a text “If there is one thing I would change to improve safety onboard ships it’s safe manning requirements.” Captain Yves Vandenborn, Head of Loss Prevention Asia-Pacific, North Standard P&I Protection & Indemnity is insurance for ships, crew and cargo. Julia and Adam were lucky enough to find a one hour slot to talk with loss prevention specialists from P&I clubs at opposite ends of the world. We met with Bill Moore from New York who works for The American Club a...
Send us a text “We need to pay more attention to fishing to make it safer because there are 35 million fishers going to sea and catching fresh fish and seafood for the world. So 24 out of every 25 seafarers in the world, work in fishing” Cor Blonk, at FISH Platform Julia and Adam talk with Cor Blonk, from FISH Platform, which is working to raise safety standards in fishing around the world and reduce the number of deaths in fishing globally which is estimated to be anywhere betwee...
Send us a text “No captain starts out with the aim of being a toxic leader.” Brendan O’Shannassy, author of Super Yacht Captain Toxic leadership can decimate a team and compromise safety on board a ship. Julia and Adam hold a challenging and insightful conversation with Brendan O’Shannassy, author of Super Yacht Captain and Tom Sharpe, OBE, Naval Commander (retired), exploring the impact of toxic leadership on those working at sea and also touching on observations upon what good leaders...
Send us a text “It is important that seafarers are not considered collateral damage in this huge move towards green fuels.” Jeff Parfitt, Nautical Institute Shipping is responsible for 3% of global greenhouse emissions. Julia engages in an insightful conversation with Jeff Parfitt, Head of Safety & Environment at The Nautical Institute, exploring the impact of green fuels on the maritime sector. What are the challenges of keeping seafarers safe amidst the rapid changes? In July 2023...
Send us a text “The problem with statistics is that it’s a bummer when it’s you!” ― Arie Palmers, Maritime Pilot This is an in-depth discussion of the risks involved in maritime pilot transfers; an interesting job but with a risky commute to work. Sadly there have been 7 deaths associated with maritime pilot transfer operations already in the first 6 months of 2023. What are the current international regulations for ships and what are the barriers to reducing the risk? How can individu...
Send us a text “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.”― Eleanor Roosevelt Julia interviews Adam Parnell, Director of the Maritime Programme at CHIRP. We reveal the importance of utilising the confidential incident and accident reporting system offered by CHIRP. Discover how the data from thousands of reported incidents annually contributes to enhancing safety at sea worldwide. We uncover why both seafarers and employers should adopt the...