Are requirements for suppliers clear?  Is it clear who carries out which duties in victualling? Does the company have a standing on health and nutrition?  These are some of the areas that upwards of 200 cooks, masters, suppliers and shore staff say are critical for good, efficient organisation of catering on board.

Shipowners are invited to share the dividends with SEAHEALTH after mapping catering and skills at sea. Mapping points among other things to where adjustments to the organisation of the galley area can have a good effect on diet/nutrition and in the final count, well-being and efficiency on board.

Two of the main shipping industry organisations give their backing to the mapping results of NEPTUNE.

CO-SEA say that they are pleased  to see, that NEPTUNE is not a “desk project” and that the results recognizes cooks as a significant part of the operation and performance at sea.

It is not just the conditions in the galley but also corporate purchasing policies and contracts with suppliers that play a part. The same applies to attitudes to healthy food in the company, on the bridge, in the galley and in the mess.

Danish Maritime Officers have also agreed to the conclusions and would like to contribute to a discussion of the master’s role in catering, health and well-being on board.

Three adjustable pointers to boost catering and diet at sea

SEAHEALTH is now publishing a report on the mapping process for catering and nutrition and skills at sea with the focus on the framework for these aboard Danish flagged ships. The mapping process indicates that there are three significant pointers to be adjusted if (often criticized) catering at sea is to get a boost.

• View mapping report

Shipowners, skills and deliveries

The areas of action – the pointers – are first and foremost about the company, which the mapping process shows should consider catering and nutrition as factors that affect health. At the same time, this has an impact on well-being, safety and performance. This is why they should implement health and catering policy guidelines on board their ships. The framework for catering and diet on the company’s ships should also be checked – is there for example a realistic balance between budgets and resources?

The second pointer is about the skills associated with catering. Does the cook know enough about nutrition and hygiene for example? And what about the master? Is he equipped to take charge of victualling, which the mapping process indicates he is often involved in?

Last but not least, it is about the company having clear, realistic contracts with suppliers. If the company wishes for example to have a fixed standard for meat, suppliers must be told what kinds of meat they want, which countries it can be sourced from, etc.

No simple answer to the catering issue

Recent years have seen rationalization in many places in the area of catering and nutrition. The mapping process indicates that tight budgets and the lack of resources and preconditions for optimal use of raw ingredients and preparing healthy food are helping to put catering under pressure.

”In recent years, there have been savage cutbacks to catering. This means budgets have been cut right back in many places while the cook may not be equipped to trim processes in the galley without it affecting the food. Cooks often simply do not know enough about nutrition, hygiene and processes. Or they do not have enough time. Or there are other things that pressurize the galley into too many compromises. It is obvious that there is no easy way of squaring the circle when budgets are cut and with them the quality of raw ingredients and with them, the preconditions on board for preparing varied, healthy food,” says Connie S. Gehrt, while adding:

”The percentage of raw ingredients the cook throws out or trims off increases if the quality is not good enough. Which means that it is open to question how much it pays to save on the quality of raw ingredients if at the same time the cook is not equipped to optimize his processes.”

The focus is now on developing tools

Following the mapping process, SEAHEALTH is now focusing on developing tools to help shipowners and seamen get better catering and nutrition on board. Over the next 18 months or more, we shall be gathering good examples of how to work with suppliers, completing an e-learning program on hygiene and developing a system where companies can get inspiration for their cooks, guidance for masters, etc.

• View mapping report under Deliverables and mapping results

A holistic view of diet and nutrition aboard

Nutrition and diet play a key role for well-being and health aboard but also for safety and efficiency and thus the bottom line. So it is a good idea to have a look at what people do in the nutrition field and why. It ensures good standards and a win-win situation for companies and crews.

The NEPTUNE project aims to review the whole area of diet and nutrition, to look at the challenges and possible solutions and develop and modify guidance and tools to help the industry comply with the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), but also to ensure that there is the proper focus on nutrition and diet and that this is dealt with in accordance with the needs and goals of companies and crew.

Seamen have no alternative to the catering aboard when they are at sea. The crew are typically aboard 24/7 and are typically at sea for several weeks or months at a time, depending on the group we are talking about. All meals are eaten aboard and there are no alternatives.

There is no hotdog or fish’n chips round the corner and nobody there to supplement the “canteen”, when we get back home for supper. Which is what, we others can do when the food in the canteen is not quite to our liking. Ashore we have alternatives and it is not just a matter of a single meal, that we eat every day at work. Seamen have all their meals aboard. Mealtimes also serve as the centre for some of the social life aboard. This is where crew get together and take breaks from their daily duties. Meals are incredibly important aboard.

All in all, it is a matter of recognizing and showing respect for the way seamen work and live aboard and to show understanding for their working conditions.

Absolute minimum quality

Generally, the whole area of food takes higher priority. Nobody is saying that there should be party food at every meal. Everyday food should not be a feast although there must also naturally be room for festive food. But three fundamental issues should be met. Food should be served that:

• Is produced under proper hygienic conditions so that people do not get ill from eating it; 
• Is of suitable quality and quantities and is properly balanced nutritionally so crew get the energy they need to carry out their duties properly, efficiently and with a certain amount of surplus energy;
• From a health, cultural and well-being point of view, there is sufficient variation and choice to create an attractive framework for social life aboard.

Individuals may be responsible for their day-to-day choices, but the basics must be in order.

Catering finances are important

What about the economics?  The maritime industry has cut crews and budgets down. So it is good business to cut back on catering?  Well, perhaps so.

We also need to make some real assessments of what it costs to have proper catering aboard and how we should handle the targets we have for operations, health and efficiency aboard. The creative thinking may have been there but the results in many places have focused on how we can outsource or cut back on catering budgets. Regardless of the method, the results are unfortunately often that the crew cannot reconcile the quality and products supplied aboard with what has been ordered /requested.

Reasonable food products for human consumption are often just not available aboard. As far as I am aware, neither have seamen had much opportunity to contribute their ideas and suggestions.

In project NEPTUNE we are asking seamen so their views can be heard.

MLC 2006

A great deal of work is currently being done to ensure Danish ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) before too long. MLC includes a series of new and “old” international guidelines intended to boost health and safety at sea for mariners. It is said that this does not mean so much from countries such as Denmark because Danish shipowners actually comply with most of the requirements.

But nevertheless, MLC should draw attention to what goes on aboard when it comes to catering. MLC states for example that each member state is required to ensure that food of sufficient quality, nutritional value and quantities is carried aboard and that the different cultures and religious backgrounds of crew should be taken into consideration. The ship’s cook must also have been trained and/or qualified to prepare meals aboard. Since the convention also provides for very extensive controls, we need to take a little closer look at this.