The shipping industry is wrestling with one of its largest challenges

Business
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November 26, 2024
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Containers near a berthed cargo vessel at a terminal in the southeastern port city of Busan on Nov. 24, 2024.

Anthony Wallace | Afp | Getty Images

The shipping industry is contending with a worldwide shortage of seafarers, and it’s fueling a troubling mix of fake resumes, accidents at sea, and elevated freight rates.

“We have been seeing a consistent shortage of seafarers,” Rhett Harris, senior manning analyst at Drewry, told CNBC. Though the number of vessels has in recent years risen “exponentially” in the thousands per year, the manpower growth needed for those ships has not kept pace, he said.

“Companies have to employ seafarers with less experience than they would ideally like,” added Harris, who noted that those in the higher ranks, and engineers in particular, are in shorter supply than deck officers.

Nowadays, younger people are prioritizing work-life balance and aren’t as willing to commit to a career that requires long stretches away from home.

Daejin Lee

FertiStream’s global head of research

Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the ongoing Russian-Ukraine conflict have resulted in a knock-on effect on the availability of skilled seafarers, experts told CNBC.

“Both Ukraine and Russia had supplied a lot of professional seafarers. However, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has indeed reduced the supply of seafarers from both countries, as they’re facing overall labor shortages due to the war,” said Daejin Lee, global head of research at FertiStream.

The Philippines, China, Russia, Ukraine and Indonesia are the largest suppliers of the world’s seafarers, according to the most recent seafarer workforce breakdown report by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and BIMCO in 2021.

Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian and Ukrainian seafarers made up almost 15% of the global shipping workforce, ICS data showed.

ICS expects a shortfall of 90,000 trained seafarers by 2026, ICS told CNBC via email. “Policymakers need to create national strategies to address the seafarer shortage,” the shipping organization said.

“It is vital that we actively recruit a more diverse workforce if we are to meet the shortfall of seafarers needed to keep the industry thriving, it is one of the biggest challenges our industry is facing at the moment,” said ICS.

Geopolitical events have also created more dangers at sea as the Iran-backed Houthi militant group continues to target vessels in the Red Sea, making the role less attractive, ICS added.

No longer an appealing career

Existing maritime personnel are also opting for more shore-based jobs rather than going out to sea, said Henrik Jensen, CEO of Danica Crewing Specialists Group, an international maritime recruitment and manning services company. On top of that, the dwindling appeal of seafaring to younger generations may be the nail in the coffin for the vocation.

“In the past, seafarers’ salaries were high enough to make it a financially appealing option. But nowadays, younger people are prioritizing work-life balance and aren’t as willing to commit to a career that requires long stretches away from home,” said FertiStream’s Lee.

For those who grew up with the internet and phones at their fingertips, a life at sea without constant connectivity may not be ideal, said Drewry’s Harris.

As a result, more companies are trying to attract the younger generation with entertainment and gym facilities on board, as well as shorter voyages ranging from two to four months, he observed.

Fake resumes and accidents

The seafarer supply squeeze has led to companies offering higher salaries to draw in talent from a limited pool, but also applicants who try their luck at vacancies they are not qualified for — by submitting embellished CVs — and getting on board with them, said industry experts CNBC spoke to.

Fake resumes have become more prevalent in the industry since the shortage, the analysts said, with an increasing number of seafarers fabricating experiences on vessels and time out at sea.

“There are a lot of people who are polishing their CVs to get higher ranks and higher salaries,” said Jensen, who discovered thousands of such embellished resumes after trying to confirm said experiences with the seafarers’ previous employers.

And those on board are paying the price.

“There’s a shortage, a huge shortage … It is affecting me. I am not getting suitable people [for my crew],” said a captain in a global shipping company, who requested that CNBC not use his name out of fear of reprisal from their company.

A ship carrying shipping containers through the Upper Bay in New York on Sept. 30, 2024.

Caitlin Ochs | Reuters

“The standard of seafarers is going down. Because now they just need anybody with a license,” the captain said, adding that he has had to fire more seafarers of late whose competence had been called into question.

Existing seafarers also needed to be out at sea for longer, back-to-back durations, with fewer people available to do so. The fatigue and mental strain that arises can result in compromised mental health for some — and even accidents on board.

The safety of ships and the crew can be compromised because of a cocktail mix of inexperience, lack of proper maintenance and fatigue, said Subhangshu Dutt, executive director of Om Maritime.

In a 2024 study by the World Maritime University, over 93% of 9,214 of the seafarers surveyed noted that fatigue is the most common safety-related challenge on board. About 78% report not having a full day off throughout the entirety of a contract period, which can last for months.

Ocean shipping is an integral part of the world’s supply chain — more than 80% of global trade volume is carried by sea, according to the U.N. Trade and Development organization.

Lack of crew could also disrupt supply chains, as ships may be held up in ports, Dutt said.

On top of that, seafarers’ wages make up a big part of a ship’s operating costs, which are expected to stay high as companies raise salaries in an attempt to attract and retain talent, said Lee. And that will probably keep freight rates elevated, adding some inflationary pressure down the line, he explained.

Other experts share the view that the seafarer shortage will persist for a few more years, recognizing that it is among the largest hurdles the industry has to face.