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.

Opening the panel, Capt. Parani set the tone: “Why are soft skills more relevant today than ever before, and what can the industry do to strengthen them on board?”

The discussion began with Capt. Pradeep Chawla. Reflecting on his decades at sea and ashore, he traced the transformation of shipboard life – from the days of Morse code messages every 48 hours to today’s continuous connectivity via WhatsApp. “The competencies required of a master or chief engineer have changed significantly,” he explained.

 

Decision-making today is a shared process between ship and shore. Automation and AI have reshaped operations, but it is still the human behind the machine who makes the difference.

 

For Capt. Chawla, the evidence is clear: most maritime accidents no longer stem from technical incompetence but from human factors — distraction, conflict, or poor communication. “Soft skills,” he concluded, “are now the most important skills for seafarers. They determine how we collaborate, make decisions, and ensure safety.”

The golden thread of human connection

Picking up the theme, Steven Gosling of The Nautical Institute described soft skills as the “golden thread running through our professional lives.” Quoting Professor Carol Davis, author of Developing Soft Skills in Mariners, Gosling noted that these competencies bind individuals together, enhance safety culture, and underpin well-being at sea.

He emphasized that younger generations are increasingly aware of emotional intelligence and human interaction; areas the maritime industry must embrace. “Like technical skills, soft skills are inseparable and interdependent,” Gosling said. “They’re not optional extras, they are essential for effective leadership and safe ship operations.”

Soft skills as differentiators of success

Rachit Jain, Managing Director of Safe Lanes Consultants, brought a pragmatic perspective from both his sailing experience and his work in quality assurance and training. “While technical expertise remains crucial,” he said, “it is soft skills that truly differentiate successful seafarers and future leaders.”

In a rapidly evolving maritime world, Jain stressed the importance of awareness, adaptability, and interpersonal understanding.

 

Soft skills are not just about being polite – they are about how we lead, collaborate, and maintain harmony on board multicultural vessels.

 

Leadership in a multicultural era

For Capt. Konstantinos Karavasilis of the UK P&I Club, the shift in leadership style on board is one of the defining changes of the past three decades. “When I started, the captain was the ‘god’ on board — unquestioned and unapproachable,” he recalled. “Today, that model is obsolete. We work in multicultural, multinational environments where leadership must rely on empathy, cooperation, and clear communication.”

Karavasilis drew a powerful parallel between shipboard leadership and corporate management:

 

Captains and chief engineers are the managing directors of multi-million-dollar companies. We expect from them the same leadership qualities as any CEO ashore – and that means mastering soft skills. 

Integrating soft skills into training

From a training perspective, Panagiotis Kourkoumelis of Kyklades Maritime Corporation underscored that soft skills are not new, but their recognition in seafarer training has lagged behind. “It took us years to realize how vital they are,” he said. “We used to analyze office teams using psychometrics and leadership frameworks, but rarely did we question the power structures on board.”

Kourkoumelis argued that soft skills must not be taught in isolation but embedded within technical and operational training. “We must grow soft skills through context — through bridge simulations, engine room teamwork, and crisis management exercises. That’s how they become real and relevant.”

He also highlighted the concept of psychological safety ; creating an environment where crew members feel safe to speak up and share concerns. “If companies build psychological safety on board, all the soft skills – communication, empathy, teamwork – will follow naturally.”

Leadership, reflection, and the human factor

Lennart Ripke of Green-Jakobsen provided a data-driven perspective. “Our work shows that you cannot be a leader without soft skills,” he said. “Leadership is built on empathy, communication, and the ability to inspire trust.”

He added that critical self-reflection – the ability to examine one’s own behavior and decisions – is often missing among senior officers.

 

Around 15–20% of senior officers suffer from hubris- overconfidence that prevents them from listening and learning. Without reflection, empathy cannot grow, and leadership breaks down.

 

Ripke linked this insight to performance outcomes: “Soft skills are not abstract ideas. They directly impact safety, efficiency, and crew welfare. When leaders lack them, teams lose cohesion — and safety suffers.”

Empathy, communication, and emotional intelligence

In the second half of the discussion, Capt. Parani asked each panelist to identify one key soft skill and explore its impact.

Capt. Chawla chose empathy, describing it as the foundation of teamwork and motivation: “If we treat people as we’d like to be treated, everything else – safety, communication, trust – falls into place.” Gosling selected communication, noting that “without a common language and the ability to listen, nothing functions on board.”

Jain emphasized emotional intelligence – the awareness and regulation of one’s emotions and those of others. “It’s essential for managing cultural diversity and stress,” he said. Karavasilis focused on decision-making, arguing that it integrates empathy, emotional intelligence, and communication into real-time actions.

Kourkoumelis again stressed communication and psychological safety, calling for environments that empower crews to speak up. Ripke introduced critical self-reflection, the skill that helps leaders remain humble and open to growth.

A basket of interconnected skills

As Capt. Parani aptly summarized, “Soft skills are a basket; empathy, communication, emotional intelligence, decision-making, and reflection all belong together. You can’t develop one without the others.”

This holistic perspective reflects a growing recognition across the industry: the maritime profession is as much about human understanding as it is about navigation, engineering, and compliance.

Charting the course ahead

The panel concluded with a shared call to action. Soft skills training must move from optional workshops to an integral part of maritime education and safety management. Leaders must be coached not just to command, but to connect.

The future of seafaring, the panelists agreed, lies in blending technical competence with human competence. As automation advances and crews diversify, it is empathy, communication, and self-awareness that will keep ships – and their people – safe.

As Capt. Parani noted in closing, “The captain is no longer a distant authority figure. He/ She is a leader, a mentor, a human being among other human beings. And that’s where true safety begins.”