1-341 Of particular importance is an understanding of, and sympathy with, the environment in which the seafarer not only works but also lives, often for extended periods of time. Being at one end of an office when there is an important telephone call is one thing; being 20 metres down a cargo tank at the other end of a 30 metre long tanker is quite another. Many seafarers are also wacthkeepers, on duty for four hours during the night (or longer in busy watera or poor visibility) - and, of course, their "office hours" on the other side of the world may be very different from those of the ship management office.