I am a future mariner. And few years from now, I will be setting off my sail to traverse the seven seas of the world. I will be treading water to reach the line where the sea meets the sky.

As I learn the ropes of seafaring, the thought of the responsibilities of a mariner somehow challenges me. The care and delivery of cargo, and the safety of the ship itself and the life onboard are just few of the hundred items I need to tick on the checklist. With knowledge, understanding and proficiency, I know I can handle these future obligations. But there's one task that needs greater strength. It demands everyone's hands.

Almost 75% of water covers the world. Thus, most of our resources are taken from oceans, rivers and lakes. For the maritime industry, the sea provides the cheapest way to transport goods from one country to another.

However, during navigation, accidents occur that result to marine pollution. Most land-based people don't have any idea about it. As silent as a snake, marine pollution is a serious range of threats that are invasive and impose great harm in the marine ecosystem. These include oil spills, land-based sources, you name it.

Oil spills lead to the breakdown of oxygen level that suffocates marine creatures to death. It influences the entire marine ecosystem physiologically and behaviorally. It is the most common pollutant that quickly damages the marine environment.

According to A Seafarer's Guide to Environmental Law, ten minutes after a spill of one ton of oil can spread to a radius of 50 meters forming an oil slick of 10 millimeters thick. If the Challenger's Deep in Mariana Trench has approximately 10,994 meter depth, it would take 1, 099, 400 tons of oil to consume it. The value might be enormous and impossible, but we can't tell how many tons every ship carries when it navigates.

On the data presented by the Oil Tanker Spill Statistics, in the four year period 2010-2014, there were been 35 spills of 7 tons and over, resulting in 26, 000 tons of oil lost; 90% of this amount was spilled in just nine incidents.

Moreover, in 2014 statistics alone, the total recorded amount of oil lost to the ocean was approximately 4, 000 tons, the vast majority of which can be traced to one large spill recorded in January in the South China Sea.

But this dilemma isn't just contributed by the maritime industry, land-based operations put a greater dose. In fact according to the statistics, only small percentage of oil (around 12%) is dumped into the sea by actual oil spills. Most harmful oil is coming from drainages in land factories and other infrastructures. Common man-made pollutants also reach the ocean in the forms of insecticides, chemical fertilizers, sewages and plastics which gather at the ocean depth, where they are consumed by marine creatures and introduced to the food chain.

Slowly, the marine environment will deteriorate. With this unprogressive step we take, we will lose the ocean. However, this isn't the end yet.

If we will release ourselves from this selfish notion that the ocean is so deep that no matter how much garbage and chemicals we dump will be neglible, we can make a great leap forward. If all seafarers will adhere to the rules and laws to mitigate and prevent oil spills and other maritime related pollutants, the sea will remain blue. If land-based people and seafarers will work hand-in-hand for the restoration of the marine environment, our future can be secured.

As for me, when I become a mariner, I will be responsible to my duties. I will be responsive to maritime laws. I will protect the ocean that gives us life. These will be a promise. What about you?