SOMETIMES I think it is easy to forget we live on an island.
In a modern age of global communications, satellite technology, smartphones and the internet each and every one of us has the ability and the know-how to keep track of events around the world without a second thought.

Last Sunday was Merchant Navy Day – September 3 – a date chosen as it marked the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 when the merchant ship SS Athenia was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 128 passengers and crew.

In the five and a half years of war that followed, Britain lost over 11 million tons of shipping and 32,000 merchant seafarers were killed aboard convoy vessels.

But together with the Royal Navy the convoys still got through with enough supplies to allow an Allied victory.

I had the honour of representing Inverclyde at a ceremony to mark Merchant Navy day where the Red Ensign was raised above Clyde Square.

The Red Ensign has been recognised worldwide since 1854 as the flag of the British Merchant Navy and is flown on ‘UK-flagged’ vessels of all sizes.

But the event – run by the maritime welfare charity Seafarers UK – is not simply an act of remembrance for the lives lost in the past – it is a reminder to us of our ongoing dependence on the men and women who work at sea today.

As an island we rely on the Merchant Navy and the vital role it plays in trade for the UK, keeping the country’s imports and exports moving. As a key Scottish port this is especially relevant to us here in Inverclyde. We are a maritime community.

The River Clyde and the seas beyond have shaped the lives and work of our men and women for generations.

Locally there are a number of services that play an important part in supporting the ongoing activities on the River Clyde, including the coastguard, the ferry companies and the ship building industry. Further afield there are many thousand of British seafarers working on the oceans of the world.

With the simple act of raising the Red Ensign we recognise, remember and respect the sacrifices and courage of our Merchant Navy and show our willingness to support their future.