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Seafarer Shortage

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 10:16 am
by JollyJack
Martin has this posted as a "tweet" at the bottom of the page. I can't say it loud enough or often enough, there is NO SHORTAGE of seafarers. There is, however, a shortage of jobs for qualified seafarers from western countries, who expect a decent daily feeding rate and a living wage. There are lots of jobs for seafarers who will live on a handful of rice a day and are paid $30 month. The wage race is to the bottom, ship owners compete for the cheapest crews. It has been always, is now and forever will be.

IMarEST: Shipping’s looming skills gap must be tackled now

May 6th, 2016 Splash 24/7 Splash 24/7 Europe, Maritime CEO, Operations 0 comments

London: Shipping’s looming skills gap must be tackled now, says the new president of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) in an exclusive interview with Maritime CEO today.

Jane Smallman was appointed as the 114th president of IMarEST this March, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the institute’s 127-year history.

After gaining a PhD in applied mathematics, specifically the computational modelling of water waves around structures, Smallman modelled chemical systems for British Gas before moving to HR Wallingford, a specialist consultant in the field of civil engineering and environmental hydraulics. She was initially involved in maritime civil engineering and went on to develop business and manage and direct projects throughout the world. She retired as managing director of HR Wallingford last year, and in addition to her IMarEST activities, is also a part of the advisory board of the UK’s Centre for Ecology, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas).

“There is no doubt that in recent years the marine industry has been attracting too few new entrants, and faces both a shortfall of staff and a serious skills gap,” Smallman tells Maritime CEO.

“We need a wide range of skills to ensure the marine sector’s continued prosperity. To my mind, it really comes down to making the best use of people’s skills and using the right tools for the job.

Sometimes people can become to preoccupied by formal qualifications,” she adds.

For its part, IMarEST introduced its Sea Your Future programme, a multi-tiered initiative devised to help young people map out a career in maritime and to show them where it might lead.

Re: Seafarer Shortage

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 2:42 pm
by The Dieselduck
IMarEST has been saying this shit for decades. Yes, you are absolutely correct in your assertions.

There is an absolute shortage of well qualified, highly experienced Marine Engineers, willing to work 360 days a year for wages that barely support a single person, never mind a family. There is definitely a shortage of those people.

And that shortage is getting critical !!!!

Another call of shhortage, from BIMCO this time

Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 8:47 am
by The Dieselduck
BIMCO/ICS Foresee 150,000 Marine Officers Shortage
By Joseph R. Fonseca May 17, 2016

Launched yesterday evening at the International Maritime Organization, the latest five-year BIMCO/ICS Manpower Report forecasts a serious future shortage in the supply of seafarers. The report identifies:

• A current shortfall of about 16,500 officers (2.1%), but
• A need for an additional 147,500 officers by 2025 to service the world merchant fleet.

The global supply of officers is forecast to increase steadily, but this is predicted to be outpaced by increasing demand.

Some officer categories are in especially short supply, including engineer officers at management level and officers needed for specialised ships such as chemical, LNG and LPG carriers.

The report suggests that in the past five years the industry has made good progress with increasing recruitment and training levels and reducing officer wastage (i.e. retaining qualified seafarers and increasing the number of years which they serve at sea). But the report indicates that, unless training levels are increased significantly, the growth in demand for seafarers could generate a serious shortage in the total supply of officers.

However, the report estimates there is a current surplus of about 119,000 ratings (15.8%), with demand only having increased by about 1% since 2010.

Significantly, China is thought to have overtaken the Philippines as the largest single source of seafarers qualified for international trade (although the Philippines is still the largest source of ratings). However, data from international shipping companies suggests that the extent to which Chinese seafarers are available for international service may be more limited, with the Philippines and Russia seen as equally important sources of officers, followed closely by Ukraine and India.

BIMCO CEO, Angus Frew, said: “BIMCO and ICS have once again collaborated closely to produce valuable in-depth analysis of maritime manpower trends. The industry can put this report to good use by ensuring we can continue to operate the world merchant fleet with sufficient numbers of qualified and competent seafarers.”

ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe commented: “Without continuing efforts to promote careers at sea and improve levels of recruitment and retention, the report suggests it cannot be guaranteed that there will be an abundant supply of seafarers in the future.”

A summary of the key figures in the report can be downloaded free of charge from home pages of the BIMCO and ICS websites.

Re: Seafarer Shortage

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 5:20 am
by Sea Rover
There is absolutely no shortage of Seafarers.

Nothing but "doom and gloom" with respect to hiring in all areas of this awful industry. Many people I know are working on reduced contracts this year and that's if they are lucky enough to have a job. I haven't seen a decent shipboard position advertised in a while. For the last decade it seemed like if you had a Second Class, or higher ticket, you could almost pick your job; those days are over.

People are being thrown out of work all over the place, especially on the Great Lakes, NL offshore too. It's ridiculous. I find it curious that there is little to no mention of this on these boards.

Now is definitely not the time to peruse any type of marine career.

Re: Seafarer Shortage

Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 11:07 am
by mentatblur
Darn... here I am trying to get back into the scene. Applying everywhere and hoping for the best. In the past it was really easy to get a job. So far quiet...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06 ... ime-caree/

Another article stating the similar "shortage"

Re: Seafarer Shortage

Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 4:45 am
by JK
mentatblur wrote:Darn... here I am trying to get back into the scene. Applying everywhere and hoping for the best. In the past it was really easy to get a job. So far quiet...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06 ... ime-caree/

Another article stating the similar "shortage"


Are you watching the government site? I check it once in awhile....
https://emploisfp-psjobs.cfp-psc.gc.ca/ ... anguage=en

Seaspan Containers and TK Shipping - No Canadians working there...

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 8:17 pm
by marineprojectgroup
Seaspan Ship Management and TK Shipping both have head offices in Vancouver. No Canadians work there and no Canadians on their ships. Those companies are in canada strictly for the tax breaks. I say both those companies need to be sent packing - no benefit to Canadians having them here.