Personnel Shortage: the Shortage of Officers in the World has Reached a Record High. Who are Ukrainian Crewing Companies Looking for?

The shortage of ship officers in the global merchant fleet has reached its highest level in the last 17 years. The global consultancy Drewry reports this. Thus, the shortage is estimated at 9%, while a year ago it was 5%. This is in line with BIMCO's forecasts and the International Chamber of Shipping's Seafarer Workforce Report, according to which the shortfall will increase to 20% by 2026.

Yes, indeed, analysts say that one of the main reasons for the personnel shortage is that experienced seafarers are retiring and there is no one to replace them. The issue became especially acute during Covid-19, when the number of training institutions began to decline, offline programs were closed, and some seafarers decided to leave the sector.

In 2022, the situation worsened. This especially applies to Ukrainian and Russian seafarers. As of 2024, the personnel crisis began to decrease, and some crewing companies claim that it has completely passed. Many Ukrainian seafarers have gone abroad and are ready to start working again.

“When the war broke out there was concern as to whether Ukrainian seafarers would be lost to the international maritime employment market. However, some 60-70% of Ukrainian seafarers were already onboard ships. Instead of returning home to Ukraine, the majority settled in other parts of Europe with their families who had fled the conflict, and they therefore continued to be available. Other seafarers also left Ukraine, boosting seafarer availability to pre-war levels,” Danica Crewing Specialists stated on its official website.

Greece and Italy have also experienced labor shortages amid growing global demand for shipping. Experts call the popularity of sea cargo transportation another reason for the need to increase the number of crews. Today, the supply is inadequate to keep pace with the demand.

For some, it isn’t the number of seafarers available globally that matters but the number of seafarers available in a particular country. For example, “the USA has the Jones Act, which says any vessel starting a voyage from a US port and finishing voyage in a US port has to have US National seafarers on board,” says Harris.

Ukrainian crewing companies are looking for engineers

According to various estimates, there are from 150,000 to 200,000 seafarers in Ukraine (with families this is more than 600,000 citizens). If the global trend is, first of all, the search for officers: masters, chief officers, 2nd-3rd officers, then in Ukraine companies are experiencing the greatest shortage of engineers. Thus, on the website ukrcrewing.com.ua as of this writing (July 2024), crewing companies posted 1,725 open vacancies for various positions. Among which are urgent and not urgent. The lion's share of vacancies falls on bulk carriers, container ships and general cargo. Crewing companies are also in search of workers on RO-RO, tanker fleet vessels, and less often offshore fleet.

For comparison, we have picked up the most frequently posted vacancies. The absolute leader in demand remains chief engineers, chief officers and 2nd engineers.

No wonder, every year the requirements for a good specialist are growing. In addition to common responsibilities, the senior officers must understand the digitalization of ship systems, know the basics of artificial intelligence, which is also being actively implemented, ensuring high-quality, efficient and safe operation of vessels. Professional responsibilities increase if an engineer is employed on large tankers carrying large quantities of oil, gas or chemical products. There is even more specialized equipment, installations and systems that also need to be regularly maintained, inspected and repaired.

However, the need for ratings is by one order less. If you look at the table below, you can no longer see three-digit, but two-digit numbers. As of this writing (July 2024), AB and OS are most in-demand.

They are trying to solve the crisis with the help of online training for Ukrainian seafarers, providing assistance with obtaining a seaman’s identification card and certification in Poland, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Croatia, Canada and a number of other countries. For example, the ITF Seafarers' Trust and the Marine Transport Workers' Trade Union of Ukraine (MTWTU) have developed a program for cadets that allows them to complete their training and receive Lithuanian and Ukrainian certificates of competence. Ukrainian seafarers can also work on Canadian-flagged ships if they receive approval from Transport Canada, provided that they received their STCW certificates through a maritime academy located in Ukraine. The Panamanian Maritime Administration confirms that Panamanian flag accepts seafarers from Ukraine to obtain a Panamanian seaman’s identification card remotely through Seaman Solutions. These are just a few examples.

The false senior officers are eager to embark on a voyage!

Despite the “hunger”, companies are considering applicants who meet the requirements of ship owners, and are not ready to hire anyone for the position, just to close the “holes”. However, high wages give rise to another type of scammers. This time not in the form of false employers, but in the form of false senior officers.

Henrik Jensen, CEO and Founder of Danica Crewing Specialists shared in Safety4sea that the shortage of seafarers is leading to a rise in the number of fake CVs:

“This shortage of crew encourages some applicants to upgrade their CV by claiming fake sea service in a higher rank – and even print fake sea records and stamps in their seaman's book, hoping they can cheat a desperate employer into accepting them without proper checks in order to just get a vacancy covered.”

These are not just wages that will calm the labor market.