The write stuff Cruiseship captain whose books aim to inspire children 19
Class action Inner city school is helping to shape maritime lessons 27
NL nieuws Drie pagina’s met nieuws uit Nederland 34-36
Volume 48 | Number 08 | August 2015 | £3.50 €3.70
Officer shortfall ‘may be easing’ Report says global supply gap has narrowed, but more than new 40,000 officers will be needed
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The global gap between supply and demand for ships’ officers has eased, according to the results of a new study published last month. But Nautilus International has warned that owners and managers should not take comfort from the figures — with evidence showing that a large chunk of the current workforce is due to retire within the next decade. The annual report on worldwide manning trends produced by the maritime consultancy Drewry estimates the current supply of officers as 615,000 — meaning that there is a ‘nominal’ shortfall of around 15,000. The report suggests that the industry will need to find an additional 42,500 officers by the end of the decade to cope with the expected growth in the main cargo-carrying fleet — equivalent to 7% growth over the five-year period. ‘Between now and the end of 2019 our projections suggest that the shortfall of officers will remain more or less the same,’ the consultancy stated. ‘Training is no doubt part of the issue,’ it added, ‘but it is also about access to the right type of officers, with some grades more in demand than others.’ The London-based consultancy says there are signs that ‘the persistent shortage of officer crew is receding’ and that there has been a slight increase in numbers over the past 12 months — even though ‘political events in countries such as the Ukraine have had an impact on seafarer supply’. ‘The shortfall in officer supply naturally remains a concern for the industry, but the data in the report indicates that the situation has not deteriorated since the last assessments of supply and demand were undertaken,’ it added. The study found that owners have been managing to mitigate the shortfall by officers working longer tours of duty and spending
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MPs call for action to boost jobs signed a Parliamentary motion F urging the government to support More than 30 UK MPs have
the International Day of the Seafarer by introducing policies to improve the employment, safety and rights of ships’ crews. Tabled on the day before this year’s event by Lancaster & Fleetwood MP Catherine Smith, the Early Day Motion notes the importance of the shipping industry and voices concern over forecast shortages of skilled seafarers. The motion points out that UK seafarers now account for only 1.5% of the global maritime workforce, with numbers having declined by some 60% since 1982. It also notes that International Transport Workers’ Federation inspectors found 2,300 ships in breach of provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention last year.
Inside F Top ratings
Summit meeting seeks to find a sound future for UK ratings — pages 22-23 F Records online
Crew lists from 1915 are put on show to honour ‘forgotten heroes’ — page 25 across the UK came together to promote A opportunities to work at sea, Warsash Maritime In a week when maritime organisations
Academy opened its doors and attracted more than 400 visitors to this year’s annual careers at sea open day. Pictured above greeting guests and demonstrating liferafts, are officer cadets less time on leave, although crew complements have remained relatively stable. ‘It is also the case that ships are getting bigger and larger ships provide more shipping capacity for the same number of vessels,’ the report notes. ‘This is also helping to ease some of the pressure on manning.’ Drewry says there is still a worldwide surplus of ratings, and their wages tend to be determined on the basis of International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) standard terms, while
William Hawke (standing), Patrick Pointon and Ben Ashley. Visitors journeyed from as far as Cornwall and Aberdeenshire to learn more about officer training, with school and college parties from University Technical College in Norfolk, London Nautical School, and Brune Park School, Gosport.
officers’ salaries ‘tend to be more market-driven’. ‘In absolute terms officer earnings in NW Europe remain higher than many other countries, but they remain subject to the same market forces,’ it adds. ‘In the current market, most shipowners cannot afford significant increases in wage rises and any increases which have been seen between 2014 and 2015 have been modest in nature,’ the report states. Malcolm Jupe, lead analyst at Drewry, commented: ‘There is still
Academy director Andrew Hair commented: ‘We are always pleased to see evidence from our open days that there continues to be a strong interest in pursuing a career at sea. This is supported with the feedback from the shipping companies of the high calibre of enquiries on the day.’
a shortage of officers, but the gap between demand and supply has narrowed as the recent growth in fleet size is coming to an end.’ ‘Manning is normally the single largest cost head in ship operations,’ he added. ‘Keeping these costs under control remains very important to all shipowners, especially when trading conditions are weak, as is the case in some of the key shipping freight markets — such as dry bulk carriers.’ Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson commented: ‘This is a very interesting report
and it will be fascinating to see if the findings are confirmed when the BIMCO/ICS five-yearly manpower report is published in a couple of months’ time. ‘While the pressures might have eased a bit, there are no grounds for shipowners to relax on recruitment and training,’ he stressed. ‘They are standing on the cliff edge in terms of the age profile in traditional maritime nations, while the demand for quality and experience is rising all the time.’
F Get in the frame
Don’t miss life at sea photo contest or the Union’s General Meeting — pages i-iv
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