The aim of this post is not to discourage seafarers or the people involved in shipping industry.
The Shipping Profession, considered as the oldest and worldwide profession is presently no more attractive. Though the shipping industry is growing, enough seafarers are not available to meet the requirements of the industry.
Why youngters are not coming up to take shipping as their profession? Here are some of the reasons:
Professional hazards:
1.Expensive initial training:
Any one who is coming out of a college can not straight way take up shipping as profession. Some shipping related courses have to be completed from the Marine Training Institutes. The course fees demanded by the Training Institutes are very high for a person to choose shipping as a profession. Further, many institutes are not recognised by the government and legal bodies.
2.No career growth:
Career growth for the persons who take up shipping as their profession is very limited. Like in any other profession where one can aspire to become the head of the organisation by competence, here in shipping no such vertical career growth is possible. At the most, one may become the Master or Chief Engineer of a Ship and further vertical growth is limited or not possible.
3.Limited shore jobs:
One can not afford to remain in ship for life time to earn his bread. At some point of life, a seafarer has to take up shore job. But unfortunately, not enough shore jobs are available for a seafarer. At the most he may get some marine based shore jobs in coastal area.
4.Unstable career:
Very few seafarers only can take up shipping as their life time profession. That too without any career growth. At the end of their life, they realise that no significant achievements were made.
5.Less manpower and more work:
Shipping companies, to attract more people in the shipping, tend to pay more salary. This is only an illusion. To pay more the shipping companies reduce the man power in ships. Ultimately the seafarer is made to work more.
6.Not able to cope up with technological developments:
The Navigational equipments and Engine contol systems in the ships are mostly electronic. Due to technological advancements, the seafarer has to update his working knowledge of these equipments. If the seafarer is not able to cope up with these developments, he is bound to fail in his profession.
7.Rough seas and sea sickness cause less productivity:
As the ship is a three axis moving platform, rough seas cause sea sickness that affects the productivity of the seafarer which is unique in ships.
8.Piracy threats and Marine terrorism:
Piracy attacks and Marine terrorism on the ships are increasing globally. Unlike storm warnings, no one can predict these surprise attacks.
9.Natural calamity:
Though storms and rough weather can be predicted, there are increasing instances of ships getting caught in storms and rough weather that result in groundings,collisions and allisions.
10.Multi cultural environment:
The ships are manned by multi cultural crews who have different lifestyles, religions and languages. The seafarer has to adapt himself to live in multicultural environment. Failure to adapt, results in lesser productivity of the seafarer.
11.Frequent validations, training needed:
To sustain in ships, seafarer has to undergo time bound validation courses in recognised institutes which are time consuming and expensive.
12.Unsafe ships:
Ships have definite lifecycle and are not sea worthy beyond that. But shipping companies try their best to extend their life cycle and sail the ships. The ships become unsafe and the seafarer has to face more marine accidents.
13.Increased suicides in ships:
The instances of suicides by the seafarers in ships due to their frustration in work are increasing every year.
Personal hazards:
14.Salary not adequate:
Considering the salary paid in other industries like Information Technology, cost of living and other professional hazards in shipping industry, the salary paid to the seafarers are not adquate.
15.Disturbed family life:
A seafarer is not lucky to remain with his family members throughout his career like his shore based professionals. A seafarer can not be with is family members in cases of emergencies. Further he has to forget about birthdays,Christmas,wedding anniversary and any other social and family events.
16.Health:
Due to work related stress, non availability of fresh food, lack of recreational facilities and inadequate medical facilities in ships, the health of a seafarer deteriorates faster.
17.Loneliness, boredom:
As the seafarer is subjected to “Bigger ships and lesser Manpower” concept of shipping companies, the seafarer till he signs off has to face loneliness and boredom. This also reduces the productivity of the seafarer. To overcome loneliness and boredom, a seafarer slowly becomes an alcoholic.
18.Faster turnarounds, no breaks in harbour:
Due to better cargo unloading facilities available in ports, ships turnaround time has drastically reduced. Practically ships crew don’t get any breaks in harbours to refresh themselves.
19.Communication problems:
Though English is the universal language, as the ships are manned by multicultural crew, communication problems exist between the crew. In addtion communication problems exist between ship and shore authorities. At times, this leads to misunderstandings and cause unwanted incidents.
20.Personal safety:
A seafarer has to lookafter himself and if he is not able to get along with ships crew, his life is not safe.
21.Medical facility:
Similarly a seafarer is expected to remain fit and remain seaworthy. Medical facilities are inadequate in ships.
22.Anyone can not be a Seafarer:
To become a seafarer, a person has to be psychologically fit in addition to medical or physical fitness. To assess the suitability to become a seafarer, psychometric tests are conducted at entry level training of seafarers.
Social hazards:
23.No recognition in society:
A seafarer due to isolation from his family members, gets slowly isolated from the society also and has no recognition in the society.
24.Seen as a high income man but spends more than he earns:
A seafarer is visualised by many in the society as high earning member whereas most of the seafarers spend more than they earn.
25.Not able to mix up in society:
Many seafarers are not able to mix up in a heterogeneous society as they interact with limited people throughout their career. They mix up successfully with other seafarers only.
Legal hazards:
26.Pollution:
If a ship pollutes the sea due to whatsoever reasons, ships crew including the captain of the ship have to face legal actions.
27.Marine accidents:
If a ship gets involved in collision, allision, grounding, fire etc.,the ships crew including the captain of the ship are liable to face legal actions.
Update: June 20
Seafarers: Don’t sell your lives for money. Lead a free life/normal life also ! Read more from Life at Sea.
Update: September 23
Quite aside from facing isolation from friends and family for long periods and often working in challenging conditions, a young person considering a career at sea now has to think about the real threat of being arrested, harassed and intimidated each time he steps ashore.
Read more, the views of Singapore Shipping Association president SS Teo from The Business Times.
Update: December 11
Here is a disturbing report to justify seafaring is no more an attractive profession. The Master and Chief Officer of the Hebei Spirit, Jasprit Chawla and Syam Chetan, were given jail sentences of eighteen months and eight months respectively. In addition to the jail sentences, the Master has been fined Won 20 million and the Chief Officer Won 10 million, while the shipowner, Hebei Shipping, was fined Won 30 million. Read more from BIMCO.
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While there is a desperate shortage of qualified and properly certificated seamen and officers worldwide this is mainly because of the people not staying at sea rather than not wanting to go to sea. I have just retired after 23 years as a lecturer in a marine college and over the last 5 years, every year the courses have been full with students from both local (Australia) and overseas. This year my 20 year old grandson commenced his training as an integrated rating, and is one of 15 students who are fully sponsored by different shipping companies.
But having said that I take the point you are making and fundamentally agree with all of the points you have demonstrated. It does seem to me that the industry is now taking notice and recruiting students by offering sponsorship. The problem is of course that it is coming too late. They should have done this ten years ago when the signs were starting to emerge. I recall a BIMCO report in 2000 that predicted a huge shortage by the year 2004. And it actually happened !
And its not just active seagoing seafarers who are in short supply. The marine colleges are suffering from a severe shortage of good, qualified lecturers. Although I am 67 years old and retired 5 months ago I am still being called upon to do casual teaching to avoid classes being delayed or courses cancelled.
Neil Bevis,
Many of us think that going to sea is an adventure and prepare to become a seafarer. After becoming a seafarer by spending a lot of money in training, slowly a seafarer starts facing the hazards I have brought out. Many seafarers continue their profession as no other better options are available to switch over to other professions. However, all the hazards that are faced by a seafarer can be effectively addressed by shipping companies and the government if they have the conviction to find a remedy.
Thanks for your valuable comments.
“15.Disturbed family life:” I’d say this is much higher than 15 for me!
John,
I agree with you. Priorities in life keep changing with time. After marriage, a seafarer starts realizing this disturbed family life more. In fact I switched over to shore job when my children were getting ready to join college. Thanks for your encouraging response.
I liked the post and I agree with most of it, the pay has relatively speaking been sinking for years. In Scandinavia recently there has been a spike in pay because of the shortage of qualified officers, Norwegian companies are poaching officers from all of Scandinavia leaving a shortage that all the training in the world can’t help in time.
The reason of course is the lack of training and employing in the last 20 years, so the short term solutions have become long term problems.
I tend to agree with everything that has been said in all of the comments. Tim is close to the mark. Unfortunately it is the training that is now suffering because of the supply and demand. The world wide marine regulating authorities are allowing sea time and training time to slip as pressure builds to get people onboard the ships. But I agree with the 27 points. Despite everything else they are all valid in every respect.
Tim,
Welcome to MarineBuzz. Earlier only because of higher pay, shipping was attractive. Now shore jobs with attractive pay are available. Definitely shipping companies have to take this seriously and do the needful.
[...] 27 Reasons Why Seafaring is No Longer Attractive [...]
Well researched article & very well explained the apathy of seafarer. Sad our qualification is not considered on shore jobs.We manage ship & cargo which can be in value of million dollars but when it comes to shore jobs the normal graduate rules the corporate sector who doesn’t have enough knowledge of ship. In future the shipping sector will face more shortage of qualified seafarer for sure.the wages earned by them are peanuts as compared to people in industries ashore.the day will come when people will refuse to join this carrer as there is no growth in this sector.
Capt.Indu Prakash,
Welcome to MarineBuzz. There is a notion that shipping is a highly paid, low risk job.The recent case of MV Rezzak explains how risky it is. As they get old, seafarers find it difficult to get a suitable shore job. Having no other options they continue to remain at sea. I agree with your views.
Thanks for your valuable comments.
This is such a nice article. I am going to save it and show it to all those landlubbers who think that we seafarers have a life full of fun and we earn skyhigh wages.They think we are exploring the world, whereas on ships like tankers and containers we are only exploring the jetties.
Capt Suryaprakash Sharma
Capt Suryaprakash Sharma,
Welcome to MarineBuzz. I fully agree with your views about the plight of seafarers.Thanks for your response.
Very well put and composed post. I liked every point of it. In addition to the points stated above I would like to add one point. That is inhuman treatment on lot of occasions from companies and, in some countries, marine departments also. What is your take on this point?
Umesh,
Welcome to MarineBuzz. I fully agree with your view. The term ‘inhuman treatment’ will be interpreted as ‘human right violation’. I would call it as ‘harassment’ or ‘discrimination’ of seafarers. Thanks for your response.
Well there are some valid points out there. But highlighting all negatives is not the solution. Of course one has to love his/her career. You should try to enjoy whatever you do in life. It may sound a bit philosphical but that is speaking out of experience.
Well there is good money, it is a cahllenging carrer ad you still get to see the world. This is a person speaking after being at sea for 22 years & now in a shore job connected to seafring. Let us al instill some positives in this forum to encourage young & budding deck & engineer officers.
Mohan Anantharaman,
Welcome to MarineBuzz. My intention is not to discourage youngsters. Shipping Industry as a whole has to find out solutions to the issues highlighted in this post. Thanks for your response.
[...] BBC reports fatigue among seafarers as a reason for accidents and near misses at sea. DNV study says 51% of marine accidents are caused by only 25% of all the ships worldwide. One of the reasons for these accidents is fatigue experienced by seafarers. [...]
This is a very nice article and it really portrays the fact associated with life of a seafarer, rather to put as it just shows that two side of coins are totally different.
Vikas,
Welcome to MarineBuzz.I agree.Life of seafarers is different from the perception what normally people have.Thanks for your response.
Really this is a very nice article,presenting the problems encountered by seafarers.Earlier more no.of people were joining the shipping because of good salary & an easy chance to see the world but now a days story is different.Today people ashore r getting highly paid.In long run they r earning more & having quality of life.Many shipping companies r there who does not treat seafarers well & unable to understand the problems of we people.They unnecessarily harass people & some times also cheat on salary & sign off at time.Under this circumstances working on ship becomes difficult & we feel harassed.Shipping industry has to understand this problem and do the needful.
Dinesh,
Welcome to MarineBuzz. I agree and appreciate your views. Thanks for your response.
Nice article, you have very nicely brekdown the problems in to the points. yup you are true the things have ,and are changing in marine industry. The industry it self have to come up with the solution else has to ready for the crises.
Nandkishore Gitte
Life At Sea
http://mylifeatsea.blogspot.com
Nandkishore gitte,
I agree. Shipping industry alone can come out with solutions to the problems faced by seafarers. Thanks for your response.
this article truly depicts the problems faced by seafarers.people working on shore think that it is a very glamorous job and people become millionares in very short span of time.this is very much untrue and living away from the family is the biggest reward which the seafarer gets from this profession.still i believe that shipping companies wants young and talented officers but no attention is paid to their families during their absence.this creates a sort of frustration in wife and children of seafarer.above all ,the fact is that family is the most important institution of the society and a person remaining away from his family is missing something very precious which cannot be compensated by big salary structures.the author of the article deserves applaud for pointing out the problems of seafarers in an interesting pattern.
thanks
Mrs Nidhi Sameer Lall
Mrs Nidhi Sameer Lall,
Welcome to MarineBuzz. I completely agree with your views. Missing the family is the greatest loss to a seafarer. Thanks for your response.
I am surpised about that people actually do suicide over on ships!I didn`t think it`s that horrible!!!I am just intrested in sea profession and just google different arcticles!Soon I will have to make my decision where to study!Well , that`s what I thought that when ship gets to the port , the sailors get some fun , to run throw the shops , make some photos , you know yourself!They are some idiots if think that people will want to work in such a profession if there`s no fun , Imagine PEOPLE BECOME SUICIDE!Oh my fcking God , thats serious , I`m kinda putted of now!And also the whole thing with different nationalities working on ship , that suck! Because if theres for example 5 polish and one french person , ofcource the french will get discriminated automatically , because everything different!This sucks!And whats the whole thing with that when you finish college , you cant a get job , was it??This is crazy sht , I never thought it`s this bad…..:(
Dancha,
Welcome to MarineBuzz.This post is not to discourage anyone to take up marine profession.Most of us think that life at sea is full of fun.Along with fun there is pain also.I want everyone to know the negative aspects of marine profession also.Thanks for your response.
I’m a tugboat captain. Long hitches, little sleep, low pay, very high stress levels, ridiculous costs to keep licensing current, it’s no wonder that the average age on tugs has increased, in the last 40 years that I’ve been going to sea, to over 50 years old. We see almost no young people coming into the field. The experienced, older, seaman are getting out of the field in droves. The increased liability, the steadily increasing costs in training and paperwork, the never ending increases in regulations are making it not worth it to continue going to sea. When I was young, going to sea was fun. It was an adventure. You got to see the world. Now, all you get to see in port, is the fuel dock, the chandler, the agent, and customs and immigration. It’s rare to ever get any shore leave.
It’s no wonder that young people are not staying in the field. If I had to start all over again, it sure wouldn’t be as a seaman.
Capt Charles Cross,
Welcome to MarineBuzz. I fully agree with your views. Shipping industry needs reforms. Thanks for your heart touching response.
Dear old sailor, I am impressed by your prompt replies. I hope you could suggest me the best solution. I am an MCA (Masters in Computer Application) post graduate 2005 passed out, now currently working as graphic designer. But now I am passionate about having a career in navy especially merchant navy. Do you know is there any source for me to enter in this field ? I reside in india.
kindly advice.
Rameez Salman,
Welcome to MarineBuzz. As you are an MCA, you may not get a suitable job in merchant navy ships. But you can try for shore based jobs in shipping companies. When you work in shipping companies,you will have more chances to interact with merchant ships. You may visit these websites for suitable jobs:
http://www.seadiscovery.com/mt/mtJob.aspx
http://www.maritimejobs.com/
Thanks for your response.
Dear old sailor,
Thanks for your prompt response. I looked for the reference site, but couldnt get any suitable ones. Even for shore based jobs, there would be openings for my profile or I need to upgrade my degree with any naval related additional courses for that too ? If so what are they. Please refer the site http://coimbatoremarinecollege.com/contactus.php which is in my local place. This is for your reference.
with regards,
rameez.
Rameez Salman,
I suggest you to go to Coimbatore Marine College and seek their advice.Thanks for your response.
Dear all,
Wonderful post & very supportive comments. One more factor I want to draw attention specially in today’s sailor’s life is the Sress Factor.
Stress is a very human experience. The pressures of the day can create so much stress within us that we can actually become sick as a result. A Sailor could develop difficulty concentrating and other problems that interfere with work, she explained.
Thinking of a way to relieve from such stress, I thought of opening http://www.sailorbits.com
Stress could also affect a Sailor’s eating and sleeping habits. Too much un-handled stress can lead to a complete lack of appetite, or a Sailor who can’t sleep. Stress can also do the opposite, causing someone to overeat or making a Sailor always tired, so that he sleeps too much. simply by relaxing and doing something enjoyable, a Sailor can get rid of unwanted stress. And what better way to relax other than by staying connected with your friends and family , of enjoying music, catching up on the latest world news, so on and so forth. The one comprehensive platform all of this and much more is nonE other than SailOrbits.Com . Enjoy Sailor !!!
Is anyone here a seafarer who teach in a marine schools?? i need you guys for my Thesis in research.. im a graduating student of BSMT in John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime Universiry – Arevalo,Iloilo City, Philippines.. Could you post why you prefer to teach than to work on board.. email me at marc_adele28@yahoo.com.. thank you very much.. hope you could help me.. =D
Interesting comments. I am a new seafarer trying to break into this industry and I have found just the opposite.I am sarting at the entry level point and cannot even find a position through a paid headhunter. Perhaps your comments hold true for deck officers but for someone making a career change into this industry at the bottom I have found that you cannot even get as much as a conversations with someone in human resources let alone an interview. The Seafarers union will not even respond to emails or phone calls and much of the work on the east coast of the US has to go through them. I would love to get some comments from some of the captains out there with some advice on how to get a start.
It is one of the most toughest professions with very less returns at the end of the day.
Seafarers undergo physical,mental,emotional stresses.
very correct,at 55yrs now,had ’stun grenade’ in
yemen,iraq/iran war(repaired crack,with my fitter’s) now have 7+7 tabs a day~those years have only a ‘contract’ have faced piracy,stowaways,many crew,& owner never helped those days any company;instead Now need younger master’s…as shore manage want’s to do exactly at thier way ! Courses are just ‘daft ideas’,the sea low/high pressure is the same;except the senior officer’s,true a most tough job
my experiance of 35 year’s (was master on m.t.27000 on age27 in well known companies,& upto vlcc))& still trong/yoga no smoking/alcohol.
Although you make some good points, sailing is no less attractive today as it was before. There are more ships today, a larger shipping industry to fill and not nearly enough people to fill it. Every year maritime colleges in the United States send hundreds of young willing mates and engineers into the industry. As of yet, there is a surplus of Mates in the fleet and a shortage of engineers. Being a seafarer isnt easy or for everyone as you stated, however those who chose to sail understand the risks.
As for my opinion of your list; only a handful of your “bullets,” if you will, are accurate. They only identify a very small percentage of the seafaring community. From what it looks like you dont have a lot of proof other than personal experience to back up your opinions.
[...] Excerpt from: 27 Reasons Why Seafaring and Shipping Profession is No More Attractive [...]
I AM A OLD SEA DOG WHO STARTED HIS CAREER IN1969.
HAVE BEEN A MASTER FM 1980 TILL DATE AND CAN SAY THAT
YOUR ARTICLE IS 100 % ON THE MARK.OVER THE YEARS SHIP
OWNERS/MANAGERS HAVE BECOME EXTREMELY GREEDY AN CALLOUS
FOR THEM SEAFARER IS AN EXPENDEBALE COMODITY.SHAME ON THOES WHO CONSIDER SAILING INTO SOMALIAN WATERS AS PART
OF YOUR JOB.THESE PEOPLE SHOULD THEMSELVES UNDERGO CAPTIVITY IN HANDS OF THESE PIRATES.WHY IS THE MARATIME
WORLD JUST WATCHING THESE EVENTS WITHOUT DOING ANYTHIG
TO WIPE OUT PIRACY FROM THAT REGION?sAILORS ARE UNDERPAID OVERWORKED AS COMPARED TO ANY OTHER INDUSTRY.
i HOPE SAILORS GET A BETTER DEAL IN THE FUTURE.
Thanks for your power packed illustration. I do completely agree with most of the points. I have sailed for 10 years and have done an MBA myself, but I find changing over to other industries is difficult, if not impossible.
Shipping keeps you aloof and also instills in you a kinda “silo mindset” which gradually makes you think unidirectionally. There has been a serious effort by the Shipping fraternity bigwigs to keep the industry isolated for reasons well known to them. Technologically things have changed a lot and shipping companies havent kept abreast of these changes.
Shipping fraternity should own things/technology/Quality processes etc etc such as TQM / ERP / SAP, which is understood by the other industry which can make people willing to make a transition, employable in other industries too in future.
Out of many things one thing which is unique to Shipping is the title – Technical Superintendent.
Seriously, in my view, as long as it pays you it doesnt really matter.
According to Maslows hierarchy of needs the topmost level one wants to achieve in life is self actualization.
Titles and designation do count. One of them, who doesnt belong to Shipping, told me one day that Chief engineer sounds better that Technical superintendant.
In other industries this is self evident from the deisgnation as to where someone lies in the hierarchy.
People dont seem to understand what we are worth just because they really dont care!
The shipping industry must take a note of all these factors and must consider the long term implications of their short sighted view of the whole issue.
I believe at the end of it, Shipping has it’s positives too but the transition from ship to shore should be planned and planned well in advance before we start finding ships without any staff to man them.