Editorial of Ship&Offshore 6/2024: Most wanted

The shortage of skilled labour continues to affect many business sectors, but it is particularly dramatic in the maritime industry, specifically at sea. Germany’s Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) recently stated that in the coming years, the global merchant fleet will face a shortage of thousands of officers.

While clever minds build high-tech ships and develop future-proof applications, it is increasingly likely that there will not be enough well-trained personnel to operate them.

This is not new and various promising international initiatives along the entire value chain are already trying to tackle the challenge, such as the year (or now even the decade) of training (“Jahr der Ausbildung”) proclaimed by the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR) in 2023 and the recent announcement by BSM to introduce a new educational programme for trainee seafarers in collaboration with selected maritime universities.

These initiatives are of course extremely welcome and should ensure that more young people are interested in becoming seafarers. However, they will probably still not be sufficient to close the large gap between demand and supply.

It has sometimes been said that the maritime industry has an “image problem”, but is this really the case? Working conditions at sea are certainly very different to those in a comfortable open-plan office ahore. But they are also very special and offer a wide range of fascinating opportunities.

In Germany, the Federal Employment Agency, among others, helps with career guidance. When the topic of the shortage of skilled labour came up at a recent event, it was reported that this same employment agency did not even mention the profession of marine engineer at all, for example. This needs to be addressed urgently. And it turns out that it is probably not, or at least not only, an image issue, but an information deficit.

As the seventh largest merchant fleet in the world with around 1,800 ships, Germany naturally has a valid interest in being sustainably and reliably positioned for the future in order to secure its standing as a key European shipping nation.

Elsewhere in Europe, in Greece, the situation is even more acute. The world’s largest merchant fleet has a much greater need for qualified staff and young talents. Without decisive measures to tackle the issue, the maritime sector could face severe disruption. Safety could well be compromised and ships could even be held up by failing to meet safe manning requirements. This, in turn, could potentially disrupt supply chains and the smooth flow of international trade. Greece has thus named 2024 the year of ‘Naval Education’ with the goal of boosting the number of well-trained professionals. In order to achieve this objective, legislative initiatives are to be introduced.

Even if these selective measures bear fruit, the demographic change will nonetheless affect the future of staffing. Ultimately, new and innovative ways must be found to keep trade at sea going – ways that most likely will have to be supported by automated and digitalised tools and systems, including artificial intelligence.

These issues will certainly be among the main topics at Posidonia, which will take place in Athens in early June. As Greece and other shipping nations plan their compliance towards the industry’s 2050 decarbonisation goals, the need for smart IT applications, among others, is becoming more pressing.

This may have even led to a change in perspective for some shipping companies. After a few years in which it seemed as if Posidonia – as well planned and organised as the exhibition is – was more of a meeting point for marine suppliers, while the actual people of interest –the shipowners – did their relevant business elsewhere in Athens, the last event in June 2022 presented a different picture. Noticeably more shipping company representatives and buyers from the technical departments were to be found in the corridors meeting up after the Covid-19-related break to update themselves on latest technology developments. 

And once again this year, there will certainly be many good discussions and meaningful exchanges on current topics and challenges – whether in the halls during the day or at one of the many great functions in the evenings.