The maritime officer shortage – trends, causes, prospects

• Main Authors: Luan, Shuwei., Tan, Leonard Heng Soon.
• Other Authors: Williams, Edward Cameron Jr.
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Maritime studies::Maritime management and business
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/12786
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The globally recognised BIMCO/ISF study on the Demand and Supply of seafarers reported that there was a shortage of maritime seafaring officers and predicted a continual shortage for the years to come. The world has risen to this issue and several debates had been sparked off to determine the causes of the shortage and the possible solutions that might be derived, yet the problem persists and there is no unison concrete solution worked out to remedy the situation. Over the years, the main suppliers of seafarers both officers and ratings has shifted away from the European and Scandinavian countries over to the Asia continent. Today the main countries responsible for the supply of seafarers are the Philippines, India and China. Recently in the conference, the Maritime Manpower Singapore 2007, representatives of these three countries all reported that there was no shortage of new entrants into the seafaring career. However, there arises a problem of the lack of training opportunities onboard ships to undergo the required onboard training. With this basic background on hand, this report went about in its research by the means of conducting interviews and carrying out surveys to investigate into situation of the Singaporean maritime seafaring officers. Interviews were conducted with main players in the Singapore’s maritime industry, and it is sad to report that, from a commercial perspective, Singaporean seafarers are not highly prized in the industry. Yet from a governmental position, it is imperative for a coastal state to maintain a stable of highly qualified and trained maritime seafaring officers in its ranks. Therefore, there is a need to ensure a continuous supply of Singaporean seafarers, especially seafaring officers.