Approved in 2010, the international holiday primarily affects civilian specialists, commercial sailors fleetwhich, until recently, unlike their military colleagues, did not have a professional holiday. It was in 2010 that the countries that are members of the International Maritime Organization, which are part of the UN, at a conference in Manila decided to establish a professional holiday for seafarers. This holiday was necessary to establish in order to emphasize the importance of navigation for our world, the contribution of sailors to the development of international trade, the economy and civil society is today invaluable. This holiday is about 1,5 million professionals who forever connected their lives with the water element, working in the merchant fleet.
Previously, only those sailors whose professions were directly or indirectly related to military affairs had their professional holidays. This injustice in relation to the civilian seamen of the merchant fleet has been corrected by UN resolution No. XXUMX. In the modern world, it is the mariners of the merchant fleet who provide about 19 percent of all global trading activity. Thanks to their work, which is imperceptible at first glance, a wide variety of goods are delivered to remote regions of our planet, the delivery of food to regions suffering from shortages is especially important. At the same time claiming a new holiday, its organizers hoped to hold within its framework various informational events affecting acute topics and problems of navigation, which include sea piracy, which exists in the XXI century, and the problems of pollution of the oceans.
The vast expanses of water occupy more than two thirds of the area of our planet. Therefore, there is nothing strange in the fact that people, even in the most remote times from our days, were striving to overcome the seas and oceans. The first means that a person used for swimming were rafts of a primitive design, which appeared in the Stone Age.
Now it is impossible to say who exactly built the first ship. It is known that the history of shipbuilding and shipping is no less than 8 thousands of years, which corresponds to the Neolithic epoch in time. Modern science is still unable to say exactly in which country the shipbuilding industry originated and originated, and where exactly the person first entered the open sea. Recent studies suggest that this has happened in Egypt. Over the centuries, ships have changed the world and changed the fate of nations. It was on the ships that people went on long voyages, made world tours and great geographical discoveries, searched for new lands, new life and new markets for goods and services.
In this case, the most dramatic changes in the design of both combat and trade ships occurred relatively recently, they occurred in the last 200 years. Prior to this, over the millennia, from the 3rd millennium BC to the beginning of the XIX century AD, the ships were set in motion solely with the help of paddles and sails. Today everything has changed. Modern ships are huge and technically perfect. The seas and oceans of the Earth ply thousands of huge tankers and bulk carriers, as well as passenger liners and ferries, some of which overshadow even such giants as modern aircraft carriers with their size.
Today, the profession of a seaman in Russia, as in the rest of the world, is deservedly respected by society. For a long time, the brave conquerors of the water element became an example to follow for the younger generation, who literally admired their voyages. Many well-known writers have done a lot to popularize the profession and give it more romance. Many boys in their childhood were inspired by the works of Jules Verne, hoping to repeat the path of the protagonist of the book "The Fifteen Year Old Captain". Many of them, when they grew up, tied their fate to the sea.
At the same time, human history contains a lot of examples of feats and self-sacrifice of sailors, which contributes to the fact that the profession is still surrounded by an aura of romance and heroism. This halo is supported by numerous works of art, sailors are still making films and cartoons, numerous novels and novels are being written, and this means more and more new boys dream of connecting their entire lives with the sea. At the same time, the profession of a sailor is not only romance, but also routine and rather dangerous work. Despite the enormous technological development that has occurred over the millennia in the field of shipbuilding, any ship can become a victim of the elements over which man still has no power. At the same time, maritime shipping itself, especially commercial, plays a huge role for the economy of the entire planet, ensuring the well-being of millions of people all over the world. And the industry itself always needs professionals, so the holiday, which is annually celebrated on June 25, is an excellent additional informational occasion, emphasizing the importance and necessity of the seaman's profession, the significance of which remains as great as at the dawn of our civilization.
25 June “Military Review” congratulates all seamen of civil specialties, both acting and retired, on their professional holiday - International Day of the Navigator!
Based on materials from open sources