Jamaica Promotes Anti-Bullying Campaign

In a webinar organized by the Maritime Authority of Jamaica this week, some of the top names in the maritime world came together to endorse the International Maritime Organization’s Day of the Seafarer initiative.

This year Day of the Seafarer took the theme of ‘My Harassment-Free Ship,’ stating that bullying and harassment was unacceptable in all its forms, with those on the webinar looking at ways bullying could be stamped out.

Hosted by Sean Moloney, the panel comprised of Captain Steven Spence (Head of Safety, Environment and Certification at the Maritime Authority of Jamaica), Dr Carolyn Graham (Senior Lecturer, Marine and Nautical Studies at the Caribbean Maritime University), Dr Hortense Ross-Innerarity (Superintendent of Pilotage at the Port Authority of Jamaica), Captain Kuba Szymanski (Secretary General at InterManager), Georgia Allen (Projects and Relationships Manager, International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network [ISWAN]) and Dr Maria Ali (Lead Psychologist at the OneCare Group).

The panel agreed that the issues of bullying and safety went hand-in-hand, whereas often they are separated and bullying therefore not taken as seriously as it should be – often the assumption being safety should always take first place.

Graham said safety considerations focused heavily on the technical side rather