1-346 The work patten, and thus the immediate operatinal demands upon the seafarer, also change, both with the type of ship and with the stage of the voyage. Some ships spend many days on long passages following a fairly repetitive routine, punctuated by short period of intense activity in port, loaging or discharging. The day before arrival at a discharge port is not the time to e-mail a routine demand for information that can easily wait fora day or two.