In an era when ships are becoming more automated, communication more instantaneous, and crews more multicultural, one theme continues to resonate across the maritime industry – soft skills. During the 2025 Crew Welfare Week, a distinguished panel of industry leaders came together to explore this vital yet often overlooked dimension of maritime professionalism.
Moderated by Capt. V.S. Parani, Vice President – Marine, Tufton Asset Management, the discussion brought together diverse voices: Capt. Pradeep Chawla, CEO and Founder of MarinePALS; Steven Gosling, Head of Information and Publications at The Nautical Institute; Rachit Jain, Managing Director, Safe Lanes Consultants; Capt. Konstantinos G. Karavasilis, Regional Director, Loss Prevention, UK P&I Club; Panagiotis Kourkoumelis, Training and Development Manager, Kyklades Maritime Corporation; and Lennart Ripke, Senior Consultant and Commercial Director, Green-Jakobsen.