Cosco, the world’s largest shipowner, is recruiting experienced Communist Party members and military veterans to strengthen political work on its vessels.
Twenty-five new leadership positions being advertised by China Cosco Shipping as part of its Red Seas Plan recruitment campaign will be well compensated, with pay of CNY 50,000 ($7,270) per month — more than $87,000 per year.
Its crewing arm, Cosco Shipping Seafarer Management, is specifically targeting military veterans. No shipboard experience is mentioned among the job qualifications, only “good health and the ability to adapt to oceangoing shipboard work and living environment”.
The new hires will function as part of senior vessel leadership teams and “coordinate the relationship of each department of the ship with the crew”.
Members of Chinese shipping circles shared the recruitment announcement online this week after it was released on Tuesday. It was deleted quickly from domestic social media platform Weibo but remains on professional shipping recruitment websites.
Active military service
According to the job announcement, applicants should be up to 42 years old and have a minimum of five years in “party age”, discharged veterans of active military service, with Communist Party experience, proven political reliability, a university degree, office software skills and “a certain [level of] English language conversation and communication ability”.
In addition to specifically political work, such as indoctrination of the crew, communication of new party directives and managing compulsory party committee meetings, the commissars will help prevent smuggling and drug use, and supervise sanitation and food management.
The new emphasis on the Maoist-era shipboard position of political commissar comes as President Xi Jinping’s regime revives “party building” and “party work” as a part of daily workplace life.
Like all Chinese state-owned companies, and private ones with three or more party members, Cosco already has active party committees in all workplaces, including onboard ships.
No information was available about what segments of the Cosco fleet the commissars will serve. Company officials could not be reached for comment.
Sources close to the company say commissars have existed all along, but others say the professional commissar post had largely lapsed decades ago during China’s reform and opening period.
The position has deep roots. The forerunner companies of Cosco were started in Hong Kong in the 1950s to serve the mainland’s import needs, at a time when the Republic of China on Taiwan still hoped to reinvade the mainland. At certain periods, with the help of its American allies, the nationalist regime sought to interdict People’s Republic of China tonnage.
In addition to the threat from foreign navies, both sides were keen to prevent defections, and stationed their political officers on trading ships.
Shipboard commissars of that era were typically assigned duties as radio and code officers, ready to alert shoreside authorities if a master should attempt to bolt to the other side with ship, crew and cargo.
