Potential sociological impacts of unfair treatment of seafarers

Abstract

World trade is dependent on shipping. The ships which facilitate this trade are crewed by thousands of men and women from many different nations. In light of recent incidents/accidents which have drawn adverse media attention to the industry, there has been increased focus on international shipping via various legislative and administrative measures. One consequence of the adverse attention seems to be the way that individuals who crew the ships are being treated in various jurisdictions. This paper discusses some potential sociological impacts of what is often perceived to be the unfair treatment of seafarers and how such sociological impacts may have more technical consequences (impacts) related to risk. It generates some hypothetical positions for the purposes of discussion and is not based on empirical findings.