Yacht captains speak out: "Don't discredit the profession because of negative personal experiences."
Amadi, Super Captains Team and Marittimi Tirreno Centrale respond to the critical words expressed by an owner dissatisfied with the professionalism of some crew members
The words expressed by the shipowner Livio Cossutti have caused much discussion, provoking critical and indignant reactions in some, in the interview published by SUPER YACHT 24 and titled “I'm in command”One passage in particular has been targeted by captains' associations because it targets sailors.
"I'm the commander," Cossuti says in the interview, "because we've had terrible experiences with commanders. We can safely say I've had commanders who stole 30 euros. Even now, when I have to fill up my tank with diesel fuel in my bathing suit and pink T-shirt (so I'm clearly not dressed like a commander), they ask me: 'Commander, how many cents should I leave for you?' So that's how it works. I've had people fill up their cars with our credit card, but not only that: they even filled up more liters than the tank could hold and handed me the ticket. One of them destroyed my engine (a Caterpillar) in Corfu; I don't know what he did."
The owner's story continues: "One time my daughter and I unexpectedly arrived in Corfu, and a beautiful South African woman (the captain's lover) was in the VIP cabin at the bow, my daughter's cabin, painting her nails with candles lit 20 centimeters away from the Alcantara. So choosing the crew is, in my opinion, the hardest thing to do on a boat. You interview them, but they often tell you stories. Of course, they don't tell you if they steal or take drugs, but then you find the evidence, and so at the end of the year I find myself having to change 9 or 10 people to find 3 good ones."
Many commanders, however, ask that the account of this personal experience does not lead to generalization and discrediting an entire category.
The first reactions came from Amadi (Associazione Marittimi Diporto), via Vice President Luciano Panizzutt: "I understand and share my colleagues' outrage over what happened. In fact, I was the first to comment on the article, but I don't want us to just look at the finger instead of the moon. I think censorship should never be applied, and I'll go further: it's a good thing everyone can get to know the owner and his ideas, so they can form their own opinions, given the consideration he has for crews." Panizzutt then added: "There are many negative experiences with shipowners that we learn about every year, yet none of us would even think of publishing them. We cannot allow the entire industry to be smeared with impunity."
Armando Macrì (president of Super Captains Team) and Patrizio Caringi (president of Marittimi Tirreno Centrale) also weighed in on the matter, deeming it their duty to speak as representatives of their respective trade associations. "If we wanted to recount everything captains often endure at the hands of some shipowners, an entire newspaper wouldn't be enough," they wrote. "It's therefore clear that generalizing and discrediting an entire professional category based on personal incidents is not only unfair, but also misleading. Captains shoulder enormous responsibilities every day: from the safety of people to the technical management of vessels, to the organization of crews. It's a role that requires skill, dedication, and respect, and it doesn't deserve to be trivialized or discredited by biased narratives."
"The associations," Macrì and Caringi add, "were also created with the aim of offering shipowners the opportunity to avoid encountering non-professional seafarers. Through careful selection, we evaluate proven CVs, leverage qualified word of mouth, the direct experience of other colleagues, and many other considerations that allow us to offer shipowners only highly recommended personnel. It's clear that, as in all professions, we may occasionally find less than ideal personnel within our organization; but we are convinced that this isn't a limitation unique to our company, but rather a common dynamic in any professional sector."
Super Captains Team and Marittimi Tirreno Centrale say they are "sorry for the negative experience the shipowner in question had and for the harsh words reported against our category. However, we want to reassure all shipowners: the captains and seafarers we represent do not correspond at all to the image described. We hope that (the shipowner interviewed, ed) may change his mind in the future, perhaps finding satisfaction with a crew we recommend. The reputation of captains is built on professionalism, transparency and passion for the sea: values that we will continue to defend and represent with pride."
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