Shipping boom profits should be reinvested

Insurance club warns of rising tide of inexperienced mariners
Shipping industry needs to invest more for the future of safe seafaring says North of England club

Shipping is at risk of being overwhelmed by a rising tide of inexperience, warns the ‘A’ rated 70 million GT North of England P&I club. ‘Unless the industry ploughs more profits from the current boom into recruiting and training new staff, the present adverse claims trend could soon reach critical levels,’ says managing director Rodney Eccleston.

‘The imminent shortage of experienced seafarers we’ve been forecasting is now a reality,’ he says. ‘There are simply not enough good people out there to run the world’s much bigger fleet properly or to provide the necessary support and experience from ashore.’

According to North of England, the record P&I claims presently facing the shipping industry directly reflect the lack of experience now often seen on today’s ships. In its 2007 Management Report, the club says relatively minor incidents are developing into unnecessarily major claims because basic procedures are not being followed or simple commonsense is not being applied.

‘In the recent years of booming freight markets we have also seen a significant reduction in the amount of sea time required to obtain qualifications,’ says Eccleston. ‘Seafarer education is now so focused on running ships in accordance with procedures that, when an incident occurs for which there are no procedures, crews do not always have the training, initiative or experience to think independently.’

North of England’s recent claims also suggest the shortage of seafarers is having a detrimental knock-on effect on the availability, experience and competence of vessel superintendents and other shore staff vital to ship operations.

‘Shipowners and operators worldwide are reaping the reward of the current boom,’ says Eccleston. ‘Now it is payback time – not in terms of increased wages, but through investing in the future. Shipowners must invest in training schools, recruitment and encouraging young people back to sea if we are to secure the crews that we need for our future. The whole industry must work together to encourage young people to consider a career at sea.’

However, North of England believes that the answer to the recruitment problem is not simply one of providing training places and financial enticements. ‘The challenge is to attract professional staff of the right calibre, who will have a sense of pride and responsibility in their work,’ says Eccleston. ‘If this can be achieved successfully, then perhaps the industry can re-establish the general respect for and status of the people who are prepared to leave their homes and families for many months at a time to operate complex and expensive vessels in often difficult and hostile conditions.’

He concludes, ‘We need to create an industry environment which encourages people to go to sea not simply because it is a job, but because it offers a career and one in which they can have pride, earn respect and find the opportunity to progress to higher levels both at sea and ashore,’ .

North of England is based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK with liaison offices in Greece, Hong Kong and Singapore. It insures a fleet of 3000 ships entered by 310 member groups from around the world. Owned tonnage is currently 56 million GT and chartered tonnage accounts for around 14 million GT.