Seafaring is one of man's oldest professions which date back to ancient Phoenicia, Greece, Persia, Egypt and Roma. The seaman's profession is one of the oldest ever known. Only the toughest men, for whom being a seafarer was a matter of honor and pride, sailed on ships. The earliest beginnings of seafaring are lost in the ever-present and often cited mist of history. The earliest shipwrecks are sophisticated vessels, meaning that the shipwright's craft was old even before that time and those men had been taking to the sea longer still for sustenance, adventure and financial gain. Presently, approximately 1.2 million seafarers daily serve on a worldwide fleet of over 100,000 ships of various types that transport over 90% of world trade - manufactured goods, fuel, foodstuffs and commodities that we all rely on but generally take for granted.