Project

The MAR-DEI center is a maritime knowledge center that contributes to initiatives and knowledge dissemination across the Danish maritime industry, with the goal of reducing harassment, sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH), curbing bullying in the workplace and promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

The Mar-DEI center is established to address the needs outlined by the Center for Maritime Health and Society (CMSS)/University of Southern Denmark (SDU) research report by Froholdt et al. (2023). The MAR-DEI Center provides independent (independent from authorities & companies) knowledge and support to seafarers sailing on Danish flagged vessels, interested companies, and stakeholders in the industry, relating to DEI, bullying, and SASH. It is an initiative that seeks to integrate safety and health in order to battle issues such as bullying, harassment and SASH, in line with calls for action by the International Labor Organization (22.01.2024).
It can be seen as a supplement to the newly announced initiatives (and CMSS English translation) that have been created by the industry partners in connection with the CMSS/SDU research report by Froholdt et al. (2023).

MAR-DEI is a collaboration between CMSS/SDU and SIMAC. It will run for three years and after 2.5 years, the initiative will be evaluated to ascertain impact, relevance, and sustainability, 01.03.2024-28.02.2027. It will be launched on March 1st and officially announced at the European Maritime Day that will be held in Svendborg 30 and 31 May 2024.

The Center has a three-fold approach; 1) Serving as an independent knowledge and data hub, 2) Providing a range of supporting roles, and 3) Ensuring capacity building.

The MAR-DEI Center will contribute to creating a transparent, supportive, and uniform approach to addressing bullying, harassment and SASH within the Danish fleet, ultimately fostering a safer and healthier work environment that promotes DEI. This proactive approach not only addresses existing challenges but also empowers individuals with the knowledge and support needed to create a healthier and more respectful work environment where seafarers on Danish ships may thrive.

The region of Southern Denmark has had a long historical tradition for a strong involvement in the maritime sector, but the region has for the last 50 years been especially known for its deep involvement in the offshore sector, with Esbjerg as a key location in Northern Europe. The sector is now well-established and continues to grow, currently undertaking a radical transformation. This development is influenced by different factors, including an increase in offshore oil and gas decommissioning, as well as the rapidly growing offshore wind farms and plans for building large energy islands. These islands will serve as electro fuel production and bunkering facilities but will also become hubs that facilitate better connections between the energy generated from offshore wind constructions and the zero emission energy systems ashore. These developments all lead to important challenges and opportunities for the maritime sector. For instance, a strong focus on the maritime offshore sector is essential to realize the plans for developing the energy offshore sector and the connected goals for costs, efficiency, sustainability, performance etc. in all stages of the life cycle, from design, construction, operation, and maintenance to the final decommissioning. The maritime offshore activities will therefore be essential for reaching the United Nations (UN) 2030 and 2050 climate targets. The idea of the project is to investigate multiple aspects of this transition.
The project portfolio consists of six interconnected work packages (WP 1-6) that serve as part of a holistic collaboration platform that will significantly energize the maritime research at SDU. The topics are interdisci-plinary and cover a wide range of maritime disciplines, such as:

• Sustainability, safety, and risks
• Energy efficiency, maintenance, propulsion technologies and fuels
• Business history
• Business and Logistics
• Regulation
• Human factors, health, socio-economic issues
• Naval architecture and maritime operations

All work packages, though separate in their research focus, are interconnected and important to the project, as the breadth and interdisciplinarity of the initiative is what makes it unique in a Danish context.

SDU Maritime research platform is an interdisciplinary research platform with researcher from four different faculties at SDU (Health, Humanities, Social Science and Engineering). The work is related to research in the maritime part of the offshore sector. The topics cover a wide range of disciplines as e.g., sustainability, safety, risk, human factors, history, logistics, business, regulation, naval architecture, energy, and maritime operations.