The phase one of the EU seafarer supply and demand study was conducted as a pilot study on a limited number of Member States (data was collected from selected shipping companies in Denmark, Sweden and the UK via a questionnaire; furthermore, data from maritime colleges was not collected for phase one, the primary focus being on data collection from maritime administrations) to evaluate available data and methodologies and then make revisions as necessary in support of phase two (implementation) which is planned as an EU wide study.
A general remark is that an accurate analysis of EU seafarer supply and demand is dependent upon the amount and accuracy of data provided by the Member States. In the conduct of phase one, one of the greatest challenges encountered was obtaining accurate and complete data. It is noteworthy that this same problem was highlighted by three other major studies on seafarer supply and demand conducted during the past five years (BIMCO/ISF in 2000, OECD in 2003, and the UK in 2004), whose main findings are:
- OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) officers are an ageing workforce with 40 % over 50 years old. This has the present effect of offering a stable and mature workforce for the maritime industry. However, as these seafarers retire, there are not as many OECD officers to take their place. Many shipping companies argue that they will be replaced by other Officers from Eastern Europe, India and Asia, however current analysis indicates relatively few of these officers remain at sea after the age of 50.
- The primary marine manpower suppliers have shifted, and continue to shift, from traditional countries in North America and Europe, and Japan, to Eastern Europe, India, and the Far East. One reason for this is that officers from these countries are typically paid 50 % less wages. This trend may have significant impact in the EU because many of these Eastern European suppliers of less 'expensive' seafarers are now (or may be in the future) part of the EU. This in turn may set a precedent for severe wage differences within the EU, or necessitate serious wage reform if an EU norm is desired.
- Experienced seafarers are vital to the maritime community ashore and even required to fill certain jobs such as in fleet management.
- Global officer supply was estimated at a 4 % deficit in 2000 and is expected to continue to fall to a 12 % deficit by 2010. Rating supply exceeded demand by 27 % in 2000 and is expected to continue to grow to 30 %excess by 2010.
- Reduced manning levels due to more automation in newer ships and other factors have helped to keep demand for officers and rating fairly static in the past. Growing legislation affecting working hours and training may increase the demand slightly in the coming years.
- Wastage in officer training could be improved to help provide more officers. In 2000 it was estimated that 30 % of officer trainees fail to complete their training.
- Improvement in recruiting would also aid in maintaining a stable officer supply.
The main findings of the present study are:
a) From the collective data it was found that there are a total of 47 130 seafarers (EU and Non EU seafarers) working on national flag ships from a total of 86 261 available EU seafarers. From this figure it can be inferred that at least half of the available EU seafarers are not employed on EU flag ships.
b) Issuance of Certificates of Competency (CoC) for masters, chief officers, chief engineers and 2nd engineers have remained fairly stable during the past five years except for a noticeable increase in CoC issues from 2000 to 2001. The most probable explanation for this spike was the implementation of new CoC requirements under STCW 95. This resulted in the need to issue new CoCs and endorsements that met these requirements not later than February 1, 2002.
c) 2nd officers and 3rd engineers appear to have a distinct (although slight) negative slope since 2000. In general, these are the entry-level ranks in most European countries and new certificates for these ranks are issued almost exclusively to those graduating from maritime training institutes. The slight downward trend then may correspond closely to dropping graduation levels from EU maritime training institutes.
d) Senior officer certificates far exceed those of junior officers. Taking 2004 as an example, 2224 new masters CoCs were issued while only 1469 entry level navigation CoCs were issued. This suggests an inverted rank pyramid that also indicates the overall supply of EU officers (at least from the phase one Member States) will decrease as older officers retire.
e) Only Denmark and Sweden were able to report on the yearly intake of officers on national ships. Their total came to 1499.
f) Data from various shipowners/operators indicated that for approximately 2060 EU officers employed, and average of 81 or 4 % retire or take up employment ashore each year and 119 or 6 % new officers are hired.
g) Comparing the number of an EU Member State's national officers working on their national ships, to the number of non-nationals (including EU and non-EU officers) was done by comparing the number of revalidation CoCs issued (to nationals) to the number of endorsements issued (to non-nationals). Of the combined totals, Denmark issued 82 % revalidations and Sweden 68 %.
h) Examining manning level data, it is interesting to note that for product tankers and feeder container ships, the three countries providing data (Sweden, Denmark and Cyprus) were similar (but not exactly the same). The biggest difference was observed in the Ro-Ro passenger vessel in which Cyprus required 22 personnel to Denmark's 14 and Sweden's 13.
i) None of the Member States that replied indicated any intention to alter their current manning levels although they said reviews may be required in light of developing legislation in the areas of security and work hours.
j) Common factors identified among maritime administrations in the issuance of minimum manning certificates included: vessel size (<500 GRT, other ships), vessel type (tanker, passenger, cargo), vessel power plant (steam, diesel), level of automation (attended/unattended engine room), number of passengers (if applicable), voyage area & duration (international, restricted, middle) and crew fatigue levels at sea in accordance with STCW 95, Section A-VIII/I.
k) Countries noted that they typically receive an application for a manning certificate from a company that includes the company's recommendation. They then review the request in accordance with their guidelines and appropriate legislation for approval.