Strong economic growth in major seafarer supply nations means more job options are available ashore
When off watch, seafarers now spend more time alone online in their cabins than in social areas.
CULTURAL challenges can be a key contributing factor in the declining retention rates of young seafarers from big crew supply nations, some of which are leaving the sea after only a few voyages.
Some struggle with feelings of isolation, especially those from nations where family life is important, such as India.
At the same time, cadets may be receiving less attention to training and well-being on board from ship’s officers, as they are increasingly burdened with compliance and regulation matters.
Most crewing managers believe crew retention remains a bigger challenge for the industry than crew recruitment.
Columbia Group director of crew training Stewart Bankier said for most seafarer cadets, wages were quite similar from company to company.
Therefore retaining those cadets requires a focus on how they are treated on board.
“If they are not treated well, they will vote with their feet and leave,” Bankier told Lloyd’s List.
He added that multinational crewing, while the industry norm, could present challenges for young seafarers.
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“Some shipowners are dedicated to having one nationality on a ship but most are multinational. Though this is nothing new, there can be a big divide in cultures between Eastern and Western crews,” said Bankier.
Crewing managers have to contend with the spillover effects from global conflicts, which can create frictions among differing nationalities on board.
“The Ukraine crisis means we’re now unable to mix Ukrainian officers with Russian officers,” said Bankier.
He noted that relatively small crew numbers on most merchant vessels can be challenging for some new seafarers.
“On an LNG carrier you can have 30 people on board but for most big bulkers or containerships the average is 19 persons. The problem is that ships are getting busier, with ship’s officers dealing with more communications and compliance matters.
“Cadets may not be getting the support they need for studies, while on the social side crew members might just stay in their cabins using the internet, rather than socialise with each other in the dayroom,” said Bankier.
As a consequence, he noted that shipowners are increasingly engaged in developing more social activities on board than they were in the past, to prevent isolation.
Providing more tailored support and understanding, particularly for young seafarers, their cultural and emotional needs is also gathering pace among larger shipowners and shipmanagers.
Julia Oppermann, head of India operations at Mental Health Support Solutions, a division of leading maritime healthcare provider OneCare Group, said that awareness has continued to grow around mental health in larger companies after the pandemic of 2020 and 2021.
“In younger seafarers there is a deeply rooted mindset that mental health is still associated with not being strong enough for the job,” said Oppermann. “This is being addressed by shipowners and there have been major improvements. Changes are happening very fast, especially in India.”
Columbia Group director of crewing operations Saurabh Mahesh noted that crew retention, especially among younger seafarers, was not especially focused on any one nationality.
Nevertheless, he noted that particularly strong economic growth in India in recent years meant that opportunities for well-paid employment ashore was growing.
“Economic growth creates more exit routes for a shore career but seafaring remains an attractive profession in India with high wages compared to shore jobs, especially in the first years of a career,” said Mahesh.
In recent years, Mahesh has noticed a downturn in cadet applications from students living in large Indian cities, as well-paid employment opportunities beckoned young people to remain in Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore.
“Overall, we believe India will remain an important nation for crew seafarer sourcing due to the quality of the people we can recruit,” said Mahesh.
Meanwhile, shipmanagers and shipowners are having to look outside of traditional seafaring nations to boost cadet numbers in particular.
Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa are becoming an increasing source of seafarer supply as shipowners are compelled to diversify recruitment pools.
