The world is seeing a growing number of disenchanted and unappreciated workers quit their jobs in what mainstream media has termed this the "Great Resignation".
Seafarers, fed up with the working conditions they have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic, are joining in.
The prolonged Covid-19 situation has presented numerous challenges to seafarers who have been battling gruelling restrictions on the frontline.
Strict movement policies that curtail services and support to vessels, and the pressure to keep global supply chains moving, have been exacerbated by a myriad of issues surrounding crew change, job security, vaccination and the well-being of seafarers and their families.
TradeWinds polled several leading ship managers and shipowners on the difficulties they have been facing retaining their crews who have been put through the proverbial wringer during the pandemic.
Anglo-Eastern, Eastern Pacific Shipping, IMC Shipping, Precious Shipping and Wilhelmsen Ship Management agreed that the retention of seagoing staff has become much harder than in pre-pandemic times and an increasing number of seafarers are opting not to return to active sea duty.
Figures quoted by these companies, based on pre and post-pandemic active duty rosters, show that all have seen a greater attrition of seagoing staff .
- Poor treatment in ports by authorities who deny all support and assistance
- Long extended contracts and delayed repatriation
- Financial concerns due to prolonged periods between contracts
- Risk from human interaction in different ports
- Long quarantines in foreign countries
- Stress and anxiety
- Fatigue
- Extended risk exposure during transit times when joining and leaving vessel
- Inadequate access to medical care due to restrictions
- No shore leave
- Inability to return home to attend to urgent family matters
- Better job ashore or starting their own business
- Desire to spend time with family
The number of seafarers who have decided to stay at home and wait out the pandemic, or who have quit completely varies from under 5% to 15%. This may seem relatively small, but it is alarming for these companies, whose pre-pandemic attrition rate due to voluntary resignations was usually 2% or less.
"This is an unsustainable environment — and to expect same levels of pre-pandemic retention is unrealistic," said Carl Schou, Wilhelmsen's president and chief executive.
Schou said that potentially there will be a long-term effect if conditions do not change very soon.
"The treatment seafarers received since the beginning of the pandemic has given many seafarers a reason to rethink if this is the correct profession. We will always have candidates from countries that chooses seafaring as a profession when the options on shore are limited, but if there are enough choices presented from shore-based positions, I think we will see shortages."
Sanjay Ramnathan, who heads IMC Shipping's MSI Ship Management, concurred.
"Undoubtedly, these difficulties have created a long-term impact on crew retention and recruitment for the whole industry," he said.
Experience exodus
The managers and shipowners expressed concern that senior officers who are more financially stable will decide to stay ashore permanently or at least until the pandemic problems have eased.
They would take with them much needed experience and skill.
"The loss of professional seafarers may increase if some people from this pool decide to stop sailing after the pandemic is over," said Anglo-Eastern chief executive Bjorn Hojgaard.
And the companies know that non-returning seafarers — engineers in particular — have skills that are coveted by employers ashore, even in industries outside of shipping.
"The competition arising from shore-based positions in the marine and port-related services are becoming appealing to crew that wish to stay at home," Schou warned.
It is not just engineers and deck officers who are unwilling to return to sea. Companies also report that ratings are leaving the industry.
"Most of the crew ratings can get shore jobs that pay well minus the stress at sea," said Captain Sebastian Cardozo, vice president of fleet personnel management at owner Precious Shipping.
Cardozo also highlighted that younger newcomers to seafaring, including cadets and trainees, were another demographic where higher than usual attrition rates are causing concern.
He said that the pandemic has severely affected the pipeline of cadets and trainees, which could potentially have a long-term effect on crewing.
"The maritime training institutes were under 'lockdown' and thus operating remotely. Seafarers who had to complete the practical courses, which must be done onsite, but which were delayed indefinitely, could not complete their courses on time. Due to their inability to complete the courses, they could not join ships," the executive said.
"Similarly, those officers who were in the exam system were caught off guard. They could neither withdraw from the exams, nor could they continue, as dates for exams were uncertain."
Cardozo added that the recruiting of fresh trainees was badly impacted by many countries not issuing visas.
Other companies said they were also facing challenges in recruiting competent seafarers with valid certificates as most training centres have been closed.
This is the first in a series of three articles examining the issue of seafarer recruitment and retention.
