Introduction

The maritime industry is filled with diversity, be it gender, generational, or educational, just to
name a few. But easily the most prevalent one is cultural. Not only is the acceptance of diverse
cultural differences and unique cultural traits essential for the smooth operation of an ongoing
vessel, but it is also an integral part of a healthy work environment.

Moving forward with this seminar paper, we are going to focus on the cultural aspects of an
ocean-going vessel and the potential discrimination that might be present in such environments.
Delving deeper into the topic at hand I will try to untangle the importance of understanding and
adapting to the multifaceted cultural aspect of navigating in such conditions. For the sake of
simplicity, we can rephrase this and call it cultural awareness, and it can be conceptualized as a
fundamental cornerstone of the maritime industry.

Cultural awareness is present in both the maritime industry and every single multinational
organization. The application of cultural awareness extends far beyond the
industries/organizations and even falls into day-to-day life. Therefore, the scope of this seminar
paper should not be a limiting factor when it comes to a comprehensive understanding of this
topic.

This seminar paper aims to propagate the profound impact of something as simple as
understanding and adapting to cultures can have whether negative or positive, and some of the
nuances when it comes to leading a crew in such settings. Overall, this can affect the mental
health of seafarers and consequently the performance and the ambiance that can develop in such
close quarters. As such I would also like to share a few of my thoughts on the theoretical and
empirical aspects of cultural awareness.