IMO has launched a campaign to address the global shortage of seafarers, especially officers, which, the UN agency says, “threatens the very future of the international shipping industry”. The move is being taken association with the International Labour Organization, the “Round Table” of shipping organizations - BIMCO, ICS/ISF, INTERCARGO and INTERTANKO - and the International Transport Workers’ Federation.
Amongst specific calls for action, the shipping industry is urged to take the lead and more can to promote itself through the media, in particular the electronic media. The industry should continue to provide support for and endorse campaigns aimed at improving its image and use some key industry figures as examples of career progression. It is also urged to do more to make life on board and away from home more akin to the life enjoyed by others ashore; to encourage women to work in the seafaring profession; and to promote the industry at non maritime-related events. IMO has launched a campaign to address the global shortage of seafarers, especially officers, which, the UN agency says, “threatens the very future of the international shipping industry”. The move is being taken association with the International Labour Organization, the “Round Table” of shipping organizations - BIMCO, ICS/ISF, INTERCARGO and INTERTANKO - and the International Transport Workers’ Federation.
The campaign calls on governments, industry and IMO, supported by ILO and other international organizations, to take specific actions, within their areas of influence, to increase the recruitment of seafarers to tackle the problem.
IMO points out that a recent report issued by maritime industry analysts Drewry Shipping Consultants assessed the current shortfall of officers in the global shipping fleet to be some 34,000, against a total requirement of 498,000. Moreover, based on Drewry’s fleet growth projections, and the assumption that officer supply will only increase at the current rate, the report predicts that, by 2012, the officer shortfall will have grown to 83,900.
IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos said: “As everyone in shipping is aware, the global shortage of seafarers, especially officers, has already reached significant proportions and is now a source of genuine concern to all involved in the industry.”
He argued that the shipping industry can provide the basis for a “fulfilling and satisfying life-long career and the problem is one of recruitment, rather than retention in the profession”. He said that a shift in the public perception of shipping, particularly amongst the young, was need.
“I have long been an advocate of the need to promote the industry and improve its public image. Outside the industry itself, the wider public has little conscious perception of the vital role that shipping plays in everyday life and this, clearly, needs to change,” Mr Mitropoulos said, adding that all the adding that all the organizations associated with the ‘Go to Sea!’ campaign were united in wanting to address concerns over the future supply of quality manpower to the shipping industry and in taking positive steps for that purpose.
Amongst specific calls for action, the shipping industry is urged to take the lead and more can to promote itself through the media, in particular the electronic media. The industry should continue to provide support for and endorse campaigns aimed at improving its image and use some key industry figures as examples of career progression. It is also urged to do more to make life on board and away from home more akin to the life enjoyed by others ashore; to encourage women to work in the seafaring profession; and to promote the industry at non maritime-related events. IMO has launched a campaign to address the global shortage of seafarers, especially officers, which, the UN agency says, “threatens the very future of the international shipping industry”. The move is being taken association with the International Labour Organization, the “Round Table” of shipping organizations - BIMCO, ICS/ISF, INTERCARGO and INTERTANKO - and the International Transport Workers’ Federation.
The campaign calls on governments, industry and IMO, supported by ILO and other international organizations, to take specific actions, within their areas of influence, to increase the recruitment of seafarers to tackle the problem.
IMO points out that a recent report issued by maritime industry analysts Drewry Shipping Consultants assessed the current shortfall of officers in the global shipping fleet to be some 34,000, against a total requirement of 498,000. Moreover, based on Drewry’s fleet growth projections, and the assumption that officer supply will only increase at the current rate, the report predicts that, by 2012, the officer shortfall will have grown to 83,900.
IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos said: “As everyone in shipping is aware, the global shortage of seafarers, especially officers, has already reached significant proportions and is now a source of genuine concern to all involved in the industry.”
He argued that the shipping industry can provide the basis for a “fulfilling and satisfying life-long career and the problem is one of recruitment, rather than retention in the profession”. He said that a shift in the public perception of shipping, particularly amongst the young, was need.
“I have long been an advocate of the need to promote the industry and improve its public image. Outside the industry itself, the wider public has little conscious perception of the vital role that shipping plays in everyday life and this, clearly, needs to change,” Mr Mitropoulos said, adding that all the adding that all the organizations associated with the ‘Go to Sea!’ campaign were united in wanting to address concerns over the future supply of quality manpower to the shipping industry and in taking positive steps for that purpose.