The seafaring labour market in Brazil

The most recent reports on the supply and demand for seafarers suggest that there is an increasing lack of officers for the expanding world's merchant fleet. With a focus on Brazil, this paper discusses a particular seafaring labour market highlighting specific challenges that need to be overcome. The paper looks into the current condition of the imbalance in Brazilian seafaring labour market as well as the prospects for merchant marine officers from the only two maritime schools in the country. Key issues on demand forecast and supply expectation, policy amendment, promoting maritime career, sea career commitment and maritime career empowerment are discussed to illustrate possible means to overcome the imbalance.     

Missing the tide? Workplace cultural differences as a barrier to seafarer mobility in the U.S. workboat and sail training sectors

ABSTRACT

While previous research details the psychological and social benefits of sail training programs for amateur ‘trainees,’ much less is known about the value and transferability of sail training work experience in terms of professional development for seafaring careers. This article reviews the current state of scientific knowledge on sail training and presents the findings of a qualitative study of maritime recruiter perceptions at 10 U.S. flag workboat companies. Results suggest that the maritime industry may benefit from an improved understanding of the role that sail training programs and the sail training community can play in training and inspiring the next generation of motivated and professional seafarers. Workboat recruiters see positive and negative aspects of sail training experience and perceive cultural divides within the maritime industry that may affect a seafarers’ job mobility, whether or not such divides actually exist.     

Analysis of students’ perceptions of seafaring career in China based on artificial neural network and genetic programming

Research indicates that the worldwide shortage of qualified seafarers has been due to the rapidly increasing world merchant fleet on the one hand and the difficulty of attracting and retaining people in the industry on the other. The paper argues that in the context of the Chinese shipping industry, the high “wastage” is one of the major contributors to the shortage. The aims of the research are to examine the motives of students studying nautical courses; identify the key factors affecting nautical students to choose seafaring career, and to predict students’ career choice behavior. The research finds that (a) those who had a clear sense of their future career when enrolled in the nautical studies tend to choose a seafaring career and remain active for a longer period of time; (b) high wage is the most important factor affecting students’ decisions to choose seafaring as a career; (c) prolonged separation from family, job opportunities ashore, and concern about children’s growth and education are among the top three factors for students not to choose a seafaring career or to quit it early; and (d) nautical students’ career choice behaviors can be predicted through the use of artificial neural network (ANN) and genetic programming (GP) with five rules being generated. This novel methodological approach, a combination of ANN and GP, has been proven to be effective in analyzing complex variables and in generating rules.     

Code of behaviour at sea: women seafarers’ shipboard identity management

The employment of women on cargo ships, particularly at officer’s level, is paid more attention in order to supplement the shortage of qualified officers. However, seafaring jobs are still overwhelmingly dominated by men, and there seems to be gender-related challenges for women in such work environment. Women seafarers in this research are those who work in the ship operational sections on cargo ships as deck officers, engineers or radio officers. A total of 36 female and 8 male seafarers from eight different countries participated in the project and shared their experiences of working on board ships. The research revealed that the occupational culture of seafaring often reflects masculine norms and values which could affect women seafarers’ behaviour and attitudes. This paper further explores how women manage such situations on board by utilising various strategies in order to avoid gender-related problems. This study identifies a typical pattern of women seafarers’ identity management and creates a model of women’s strategic shifting patterns over time.     

A study on time constraints and task deviations at sea leading to accidents – a cultural-historical perspective

The high frequency of maritime accidents and incidents occurring at sea has been a major challenge for the maritime industry in the last decades. The majority of these accidents are attributed to seafarers’ poor performance. This, despite the fact that the international maritime domain continues to adopt and update conventions regulating maritime safety to mitigate these accidents from occurring. In this paper, utilising a qualitative research approach, we show through a socio-cultural contextual perspective that time constraints as a major influencing factor in causing task deviations at sea which leads to dangerous situations. We analyse how some of the present barriers in place to prevent accidents at sea are in effect prompt seafarers who are working under time pressure to deviate from their task. Moreover, the paper discusses the social constituents such as job insecurity and the seafarers’ viewpoint towards the ship operators’ commitment to safe ship operations are crucial in motivating seafarers’ deviating from the task at hand when faced with time pressure.     

Finding a balance: companies,seafarers and family life

Separation from partner and family has been found to be one of the most significant causes of stress for seafarers, with separation from the family one of the most important ‘stress’ factors influencing a decision to reduce planned sea service. Drawing on in-depth interviews with seafarers' partners in the UK, China and India, this paper focuses on the impact of seafaring on family life, with particular attention given to the effects of differing conditions of service and the range of company support available to seafarers and their partners. The paper concludes that the negative consequences of seafaring can be minimized by such policies as shorter trips, continuous employment (rather than employment by voyage) and opportunities for partners and families to sail. Whilst these measures may have financial costs, these can be off-set by improved retention of seafarers and the avoidance of stress-related illnesses. Indeed, at a time when there is a projected shortfall of well-trained seafarers, such steps may be sound company policy     

Finding a balance: companies, seafarers and family life

Separation from partner and family has been found to be one of the most significant causes of stress for seafarers, with separation from the family one of the most important 'stress' factors influencing a decision to reduce planned sea service. Drawing on in-depth interviews with seafarers' partners in the UK, China and India, this paper focuses on the impact of seafaring on family life, with particular attention given to the effects of differing conditions of service and the range of company support available to seafarers and their partners. The paper concludes that the negative consequences of seafaring can be minimized by such policies as shorter trips, continuous employment (rather than employment by voyage) and opportunities for partners and families to sail. Whilst these measures may have financial costs, these can be off-set by improved retention of seafarers and the avoidance of stress-related illnesses. Indeed, at a time when there is a projected shortfall of well-trained seafarers, such steps may be sound company policy     

‘Get yourself a proper job girlie!’: recruitment,retention and women seafarers* [1]

This paper considers the issue of women's employment at sea in view of the current and predicted labour shortage in the industry. It reports on an International Labour Organization (ILO) commissioned study which aimed to explore employment policies and practices regarding women seafarers and the experiences of women seafarers themselves. The data suggested that those employers who had experience employing women seafarers were generally very positive about their skills and abilities. Women seafarers themselves were dedicated and committed to a sea-going career. The paper concludes that women seafarers are an under-recognized resource and, if utilized, could fill labour shortages in the industry, both in sea-going positions and in marine positions ashore that require sea-going experience. A series of recommendations are outlined in order to promote the recruitment and retention of women at sea.     

'Get yourself a proper job girlie!': recruitment, retention and women seafarers* [1]

This paper considers the issue of women's employment at sea in view of the current and predicted labour shortage in the industry. It reports on an International Labour Organization (ILO) commissioned study which aimed to explore employment policies and practices regarding women seafarers and the experiences of women seafarers themselves. The data suggested that those employers who had experience employing women seafarers were generally very positive about their skills and abilities. Women seafarers themselves were dedicated and committed to a sea-going career. The paper concludes that women seafarers are an under-recognized resource and, if utilized, could fill labour shortages in the industry, both in sea-going positions and in marine positions ashore that require sea-going experience. A series of recommendations are outlined in order to promote the recruitment and retention of women at sea.     

海员心理健康的研究

本文对海员心理健康研究方法、海员心理健康现状及其影响因素、海员心理卫生保障等方面进行了回顾与展望，提出了保障海员心理卫生的相关建议，为海员心理健康的深入研究提供借鉴。     

中国海员劳务外派的促销策略

近几年中国在海员劳务输出方面取得了一定的成绩,但与中国巨大的人口潜力相比仍不相称。鉴于海员行业技术性强、准入门槛较高、行业涉及面窄而又相对独立,借鉴国外的一些做法,把中国海员劳务输出业务作为一个整体,探讨中国海员劳务输出业务在全球海员劳务市场上的促销策略。     

Determinants of Indian sub-continent officer–seafarer retention in the shipping industry

The retention of officer–seafarers within the international shipping industry is a difficult problem facing shipping and ship management companies. One strategic option open to all companies that should improve overall retention is to seek to become an employer of choice by providing an intellectual capital environment attractive to officer–seafarers. This is investigated through a survey of officer–seafarers covering areas where ship management can exercise some control over their working conditions. These cover recognition by their employer and commensurate rewards, organizational culture and structure and building relationships with external parties. Experienced Indian sub-continent officer–seafarers were the sample population resulting in more than 200 valid completions. These were analysed using correlation and regression. Although all hypotheses were in the predicted direction, only four passed the significance test: long-term career prospects, a smooth and fair recruitment process, a better relationship with maritime authorities and an employee-friendly organizational culture. Stepwise regression indicated that only organizational culture had a significant positive effect on intention to remain a seafarer. The items in the organizational culture construct accord with recommendations from the literature on becoming an employer of choice and improving employee retention, providing guidance for attracting and retaining officers.     

浅谈新常态下海员的现状与可持续发展

海员是我国从海洋大国向海洋强国转变的中流砥柱,他们为发展国民经济、保证航运安全和扩大对外开放做出了巨大的贡献。但是从当前形势来分析,我国对海员的教育培训力度和关怀力度却远远跟不上海洋经济的发展。文中主要指出我国海员目前所面临的发展现状,结合国外海员的发展模式及可吸取的经验,对我国海员的可持续发展做出较为全面的策略探讨。     

Conceptual framework for Comparing University baccalaureate programmes in shipping management

For a long time, a maritime education meant the education of a mariner where technical knowledge of seafaring was taught. However, shipping has evolved into a global and sophisticated business where two kinds of managers are required: one that deals with the operation of the vessel and the other that deals with the shore-side business. The education landscape for shipping has also evolved with time. A mariner’s education has evolved from apprenticeship on a ship to a professional certificate from maritime academies. The shore-side business is traditionally staffed by master mariners that made the career transition from sea to shore but the current staffing trend is to employ graduates schooled in business and/or management. It has been long recognised that shore-side business personnel should ideally be also knowledgeable in vessel operations. Under this scenario, several maritime degree programmes have cropped up around the world to bridge the knowledge gap of shore-side business personnel. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of maritime education and selected maritime degree programmes around the world and proposes a conceptual framework for comparing the programmes. The conceptual framework serves as a guide for evaluating maritime education and an aid to curriculum design where choices of courses need to be made to fit into a 3-year or 4-year study programme.     

The reform of Chinese state-owned ship crewing agencies and implications for China’s seafaring labour export

ABSTRACT

With the economic reform in China, the international shipping industry and some academics anticipated, as early as the 1990s, that Chinese seafarers would flood the world’s seafaring labour market. However, China’s seafarer export has been far lower than these expectations. This article seeks to explain this lack of development through research into the management strategies of two major ship crewing agencies in China, which have been reformed to different degrees, and the experience of the seafarers who work for them. To examine this question, 86 interviews of managers and seafarers were conducted in two Chinese state-owned crewing agencies (SCAs) between 2008 and 2013. The studies demonstrate that despite the economic reform in China, the SCAs were still supported and constrained by institutions at higher levels, instead of becoming independent, market-oriented economic entities, which constrained the development of foreign manning business. This partly explains the limited rate of increase of China’s seafarer export.     

Measuring and sustaining the UK maritime skills base: A review

Numerous factors over the past three decades have contributed to a major decline in the number of seagoing staff in the United Kingdom. These include shipping companies opting for other flags, as well as the profession itself becoming less and less attractive for school leavers. This decrease in numbers is not only significant for shipping companies, but also for the allied services which used to get supported from seafarers coming ashore in search of a new career. It is now recognised that changes in the maritime skills base will affect both the seagoing as well as the shore side of the industry.     

Who mans the world fleet? A follow-up to the BIMCO/ ISF manpower survey

This article uncovers that the BIMCO/ISF manpower survey, both in its data collection and methodology, could be improved upon. It suggests that there is no lack of seafarers in number, but in quality. The major potential supply/demand countries are identified. China has not only the potential to become, it has actually become, a top manpower supplier. Some traditional maritime nations, with the decreasing demands of their national fleets, have become labour supply country, which could contribute in excess of 44000 seafarers to foreign ships. There is a need and opportunity for co-operation on maritime training between suppliers and demanders.     

船员海事犯罪立法的法理性研究

海事刑事立法已逐渐提上日程，其中有关规制船员犯罪──基于古老的航海习惯和海事领域的特殊性而被视为犯罪行为的刑事立法更为各方所关注。即针对此领域从法律基理上予以探讨，包括船员犯罪的种类、海事刑法规制船员犯罪的类型、运用海事刑法规制船员犯罪的必要性与可行性等。     

A study of the role of seafarers in combating piracy off the coast of Nigeria

Piracy off the coast of Nigeria portends grave danger to the economic, security, and sociopolitical development of the country. It also threatens both international and regional trade as well as the stability of the West African sub-region. Despite Nigerian government’s attempts to curb piracy caused by poverty, unemployment, including corrupt and weak maritime regulatory and security institutions, attacks by pirates have continued to occur off the country’s coast. Consequent upon the adverse effects of piratical attacks on their day to day activities, seafarers can facilitate the suppression of piracy off the Nigerian coast. This paper uses statistics, provisions of international instruments and domestic legislations, the United Nations Security Council resolutions, soft laws, and opinions of researchers to examine the nature, causes, and effects of piracy on seafarers in Nigeria. The author argues that seafarers are necessary partners to curb piracy off the coast of Nigeria through enforcing maritime security conventions and other related instruments as well as testifying against pirates during trials. In conclusion, this paper contends that acts of piracy adversely affect crew members’ life, health, family, job, and finance thereby providing an overwhelming motivation for seafarers to play a role in suppressing piracy off the Nigerian coast.