Unfortunately, many people around the world are unfortunately mistaken when it comes to the seafaring profession. For this reason, people's understanding of work at sea has nothing to do with reality. So, let's look at the most common myths about maritime professions.
Sailors earn incredibly much
This is probably the most common myth among people not associated with maritime professions. Of course, the sailors are paid well. But about the same as a middle manager who finds a respectable job can earn. But the fact remains a fact. If we are talking about people without experience, then at sea at the start you can earn an order of magnitude higher than if you were starting to build your career on land. However, over time, such a clear gap gradually narrows and disappears. Also, we should not forget about the difficulties that sailors are subjected to the next time they set sail. Therefore, they receive the salary they deserve.
Sailors drink a lot
Most likely, such a stupid myth has come to us since the days of pirates, who were often portrayed as heavy drunks who adore rum. However, few people know that in reality, tests for the presence of alcohol in a sailor’s body are regularly and completely unplanned on board each ship. Many crewing companies have their own strict alcohol policies. We should also not forget that drinking alcohol on board a ship can lead to mistakes that are fraught with enormous consequences.
Every day, sailors risk encountering pirates
Of course, we are all very concerned about the increase in pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia. But this does not mean that pirates will wait for merchant fleets in absolutely every body of water. Piracy is usually concentrated in certain regions of the world. And then, there is no guarantee that a certain ship will be attacked in a particular region. In addition, in “hot spots” today, merchant ships are certainly accompanied by armed guards.
Opportunity to explore new countries
Merchant sailors are not carefree travelers. Typically, unloading at ports occurs quite quickly, so there is either very little or no time left to go ashore. And many large-tonnage tankers may not even enter the port at all. The only ships that can afford to stay in port for several days are bulk carriers.
Seafarers have a good work schedule
Many people are simply convinced that a sailor usually works at sea for six months and rests at home for six months. However, this opinion is wrong. After all, different companies offer contracts of different durations. Moreover, without working at sea, seafarers earn nothing. And given the severity of their work, if they did not return home to land, they would simply go crazy.
Many sailors are uneducated
People often think that working at sea does not require much intelligence. But in reality this is not the case at all. In a modern fleet, absolutely every crew member must be well informed, educated, and have experience not only in theory, but also in practice, in order to perform their job efficiently.
During passages, sailors are idle
Many people believe that sailors have absolutely nothing to do during passages from port to port. But in fact, every day seafarers face serious challenges and problems on board a ship: watches, training, equipment checks, repairs and much more.
