Seafarers push to shape the ships they sail

It remains one of the most common rants among the world’s seafarers – why aren’t they more engaged in the design of ships, the very places they live, breathe, and work for months on end?  Carl Martin Faannessen, CEO of crew manager Noatun Maritime, doesn’t hesitate. “It remains a mystery why this is not part and parcel in every program to design a new vessel-type or a newbuild-program,” he says. “Many owners do take the crew into the projects, but there is room to improve on this across the industry.”

That call for better integration of seafarer insight into naval architecture is echoing louder than ever across the industry. From the bridge to the engine room, those who know ships best argue they should have a seat at the design table — not as an afterthought, but as an essential part of how ships are conceived.   For Steven Jones, founder of the Seafarers Happiness Index, the logic is obvious. “From performance to living conditions, the idea that ships are designed and built without user input seems utterly ridiculous,” he says. “From ergonomics to functionality, to the testing conditions of crew living and working together — we can do better. We must do better, and that will need experiential insights. The kind that can only come from those who sail.”

Captain Tanuj Balani, director at Indian compliance specialist Stag Marine, agrees. “Designers sitting in offices often overlook ergonomics, workflow, and situational awareness that only seafarers experience,” he says. “It’s one thing to see a bridge layout on paper; it’s another to live with it during a storm.”   This growing frustration stems from a simple truth: too many ships are still built for cargo, compliance, or cost — not for the humans who operate them.

At V.Group, one of the world’s largest shipmanagers, Allan Falkenberg, the firm’s chief operating officer of HR marine,.. “Crew live and breathe every aspect of a vessel and have invaluable insights on how ships can be better designed for both comfort and performance,” he says...Falkenberg notes. “When crew are spending months onboard in the same environment, these lived experiences matter.”   Few owners have taken this issue as seriously as Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS). The Singapore-based giant has been rethinking shipboard life through its Life-at-Sea Programme, which CEO Cyril Ducau says is “designed to close the gap between sea and shore.”   “By reimagining shipboard life through physical, mental, and digital wellbeing, we aim to make every EPS vessel a true home at sea.”   Dutch owner Karin Orsel, CEO of MF Shipping Group, fully agrees. nvaluable insights into usability, ergonomics, safety, and efficiency,” she says. “Incorporating their feedback leads to safer, more practical, and higher-performing ships.”

At Stella Maris, a leading maritime welfare charity, CEO Tim Hill views seafarer input as a moral as well as operational necessity...From a shipmanagement standpoint, Manpreet Gandhi, marine director at Ishima, the d’Amico Group’s in-house manager, says his teams are already doing it...“...At RINA, the Italian classification society, Brian Yam, a director, says...“Seafarers’ operational insights are invaluable...For Wiebke Schuett, vice president for marine personnel at Wilhelmsen Ship Management, the logic is equally clear. “It’s always valuable to get the end-user perspective,” she says...Looking ahead, Andrew Airey, managing director at Highland Maritime, offers a technological path forward. “It is now much easier to do this with the use of 3D digital design modelling and VR – virtual reality immersion, observation and testing of vessel design, provided you actually utilise current sea staff in the process,” he explains to Splash...

Now, with digital tools, welfare awareness, and a younger, more vocal generation of seafarers, that imbalance can finally be corrected.