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Though it is with a european prospective but we Indians sure can find some commonground to promote shipping as a whole.
Is There really a Shortage?
Conference chairman Capt. Kurt Buchholz, managing director of V.Ships (Isle of Man), acknowledges there is a problem but asks: “Is there really a shortage? Not if you are among those companies offering above-average pay and conditions.
Incentives crucial to cure drain on manning supply
Pay incentives and better onboard facilities are key requirements for solving shipping’s worsening manpower crisis, according to the chairman of Europe’s leading manning forum.
Organised by Lloyd’s List Events, the 11th European Manning & Training
conference takes place in Sopot, Poland, on May 20-21 on the back of a prolonged shipping boom that now sees demand for seafarers far outstrip supply.
Coupled with the developing world’s increase in better paid jobs ashore, the recruitment crunch is being felt even in major crew supply nations like Poland, where maritime academies are struggling to fill just 1,000 places a year.
Conference chairman Capt. Kurt Buchholz, managing director of V.Ships (Isle of Man), acknowledges there is a problem but asks: “Is there really a shortage? Not if you are among those companies offering above-average pay and conditions.
“We need to be competitive but owners have been enjoying high freight rates and seafarers obviously want their share as the salary development proves. If owners want cheap crew – and that’s a hard task - they have to accept that they are cheap for a reason and couldn’t find better-paid employment.”
He points out that shipping remains an attractive career choice in countries like the Philippines because a captain’s salary can be 30 times greater than the national average income.
There would be no shortage of seafarers if the same calculation applied in places like Poland, he suggests. Claiming that the ITF stance of ‘same pay for the same work’ completely neglects national differences in the cost of living, he argues: “How realistic is it to pay the same rate worldwide? Young people in Europe have more attractive job opportunities ashore so they need an incentive to go to sea.”
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