Global crew shortage reaches crisis point: Anglo-Eastern Group

GLOBAL crew and officer shortages have reached a crisis point, made all the more critical by a rising tide of safety and qualification rules, says an expert from Anglo Eastern Group, which supplies crews to shipping lines.

"The severe shortage of officers feels worse because of the difficulties faced by companies in finding good quality officers who can cope with the higher standards imposed by the industry through measures like Port State Control and ISM (International Safety Management) Code," said Pradeep Chawla, director of safety, quality assurance and training for Anglo-Eastern.

"For the past three years, individuals and organisations like the Baltic and International Maritime Council and International Shipping Federation (BIMCO/ISF) have been predicting serious shortage of officers," he said.

Speaking at a Singapore shipping conference last week, Capt Chawla said: "The shortage of over 10,000 seafarers was predicted in the 2005 BIMCO/ISF manpower study. But warnings fell on deaf ears. Calls to recruit more cadets and spend on training were ignored," he said.

"Two cadets per ship is the minimum intake required to sustain the supply of human resources in the maritime industry and perhaps, the only way to prevent future shortages is to make two cadets, a mandatory requirement in the manning scales for ships." he said.

"Shipping is booming. As a result, the life of ships is being extended or ships are being converted into other ship types instead of being scrapped. The size of the total world fleet is therefore increasing rapidly."

Capt Chawla also warned that the worldwide shortage would continue at least until end of 2008-2009. The entry of a large number of LNG vessels into the market is also unprecedented, he said.

"The challenge to the industry, though, will be to continue recruiting seafarers continuously and not abandon training, as was done after the recession of 1980s right up to mid-'90s," he said.

"The crisis we have today is a result of the short-sighted approach in the past, where companies did not provide cadet berths. Some such companies still continue this approach even today."

Capt Chawla said Asian nations are the major crew suppliers, led by India, Philippines and China, followed by Indonesia and Burma. "Vietnam has recently joined the ranks and Cambodia may join in the future. Bangladesh and Pakistan have some potential too but unfortunately are disadvantaged since 9/11," he said, adding that while China continues to increase the number of seafarers, this growth will be absorbed by its domestic industry."