加利福尼亚州的一艘集装箱船，美国 Container ship in San Pedro, California (© Cameron Venti/Getty Images)

加利福尼亚州的一艘集装箱船，美国 Container ship in San Pedro, California (© Cameron Venti/Getty Images)

Global commerce in motion

The COVID-19 pandemic has been rough sailing for everyone, and especially so for seafarers on shipping vessels. As if moving more than 80% of the world's goods wasn't a big mission already, the pandemic brought about urgent needs in every corner of the globe, while also forcing travel restrictions that made shipping more complicated. Hundreds of thousands of sailors and other shipping personnel have found themselves stuck on ships much longer than planned as virus precautions impede crew changes.

So this year's World Maritime Day—always observed on the last Thursday in September—is a good day to salute the workers who help keep global commerce in motion. World Maritime Day was established by the UN to improve shipping efficiency through international standards and cooperation—on safe crew-change procedures during a pandemic, for example. Maritime Day also aims to put seafarers and their sacrifices in the spotlight. Thanks, sailors!

全球商业活动

新冠病毒-19大流行对每个人来说都是一次艰难的航行，尤其是对船舶上的海员来说。似乎运输世界上80%以上的货物还不是一项重大任务，这场大流行在全球每个角落都带来了迫切的需求，同时也迫使旅行限制，使运输更加复杂。由于病毒预防措施阻碍了船员的更换，数十万水手和其他船务人员发现自己被困在船上的时间比计划的要长得多。

因此，今年的世界海事日总是在9月的最后一个星期四举行，这是一个向帮助保持全球商业运转的工人致敬的好日子。例如，世界海事日是由联合国设立的，目的是通过国际标准和在大流行期间安全船员更换程序方面的合作来提高航运效率。海事日还旨在让海员及其牺牲成为人们关注的焦点。谢谢，水手们！