Over the past decades the shipping industry has been through considerable changes involving the structure of maritime trade and the demand for ships, a transformation in the size and composition of national fleets, the introduction of new methods of shipping management and rapid advances in the technology used on board ship and in ports. This has affected the employment and working conditions of seafarers, fisheries and port workers. Job opportunities, skill requirements, ships= manning scales, the organization and general nature of shipboard work and the day-to-day situation of crews on board ships are among the various factors of the seafaring occupation that have undergone change. Port workers have also been affected as modern methods of cargo handling have been introduced.