Make hay while the sun shines, but sow seeds for the next crop as the rains come. In the current boom context, this dictum along with `what goes up must come down’ should satisfy shipping pundits, ship-managers and seafarers et al. So why can’t the managers and crew plan their future moves together?

Seafaring is no more a career to most, Indians included. It has become a start up job or stop gap measure for some. Much like the armed forces wherein the lads gets conditioned and move on with/without pension using the good grounding to launch further; Singapore’s NS having perfected it well for disciplining their youth, making men out of lads.

Hence the challenge facing the industry and its men has become threefold:
First to attract the right type with mindset to seek careers –not just see the world and earn some dollars.
Second to educate, train and retain them –reducing attrition level by dumping the undesirables alone.
Thirdly spot the better committed ones, mentor and bring them to management cadre imbibing company culture.
A fourth needs be added for the sake of good seafarers to enlighten them and show opportunities to succeed as professionals in the global village of shipping and related sectors.

The challenge on macro scale seems to be able to man the large number of ships under construction with –even if- not so good crew, maintain market share and keep competition at bay by cost cutting –hope not quality! For the seafarers themselves, the dilemma is to give up lucrative jobs at the top of steep historic cycle, chose another one they are not sure about or just hang in there not knowing what to do.

Un-typically, in this peculiar case, a bird in hand is worth less than two chicks in the bush –combined or separately. For, they can be stimulated to lay eggs and hatch golden ones too. But the tough call is to swallow the anchor or change the career course with courage and conviction, of course with family support too.

From the managers’ perspective retaining them longer is the desired outcome. Though they would like to be part of the intake process, provide training support (establish institutes or guarantee off-takes etc), ensure quality (read minimum standards) and mark levels to match their positioning of products, inevitably they are subject to the flag state administrations’ drive.

The Indian latest is the equal opportunity led CET -Common Entrance Test under Court Directive –not only for genders but also on information, reach, imbalance etc so as to have a semblance of trying to tackle urban-rural divide, social inequalities etc, leave alone language, caste, creed et al. Ostensibly, it is also to ensure minimum standard controls at entry level. Psychometric test another one!

Hindi on Indian ships surely, menus too and even latent class system aboard to some hidden extent (we will still have the Maalum saab, Bada saab etc and not on rank or first name basis as elsewhere). Well, if Indians are preferred, one has to dance to such tunes –including relief for festive season, childrens’ school admission, cousin’s wedding, Ma-in-law’s ill health etc, and for Philippinos and Chinese the music may be different though, boiling down to jurisdictional issues outside the purview of IMO’s White list standardisation visions.

In a pure world of commerce driven by lure of lucre and mammon’s instincts –of which borderless shipping is a prime example, none can be faulted for short cutting the entire mechanism and fixing the last bastion of PSC too. Flag states are finding it hard to enforce standards and the whole industry is at loss to answer the customers and world when avoidable accidents happen, viz: COSCO BUSAN banging the Frisco bridge under pilotage.

As for the intelligent hard working and self made seafarers, avenues ashore globally are on the increase. With very few if at all any taking up sea careers in the developed countries, the posts ashore required to be filled by them after gaining experience, are open to non-domicile nationalities. Such opportunities galore ashore from Europe to Japan and will keep multiplying. More than 70% of British seafarers are said to be over fifty and only 12% below thirty. On UK’s foreign going ships, though about 70% of Masters are British, only 54% Ch.Engs, 49% second Engs, 37% Ch.Offs, 33% second offs and 24% third offs are British. Figures speak and fast track visas will ensue.

India too is no exception. Talented/skilled/committed people with relevant experience are required by the administration, training institutes and commercial sectors of shipping: ship-management, Stevedoring, Agencies, Broking, Class, Repairs, Building, Freight-forwarding, Logistics, Surveying, Ports, Terminals etc. Watch this space for more…

It is strongly urged that seafarers should stay a little longer at sea to gain sufficient experience and have ample savings in the bank to settle down properly once ashore, so that they need not think of going back to sea later in life and families can bear the transition/change of lifestyle easily. Not leaving at mid-rank levels, and 3 to 5 years at the top ranks are recommended. Having taken to sea, one must earn the four stripes and as broad expertise as possible before quitting.

That way the current boom can be cashed in and ship-managers should do their best to retain and reward their tested best, encouraging more to upgrade from Not-so-wanted to Wanted and to Good, thinning the Dump and Avoid lists. It has to be a concerted effort from the industry sectors to find alternatives to poaching. If the Asians fail, it gives the opportunity to the west to point fingers and shout `we told you so’ as the Clubs report increasing claims as a result of crew incompetencies and Call for more premiums.

Here is a golden opportunity for Indian seafarers to man all the important sentinels of shipping world-wide; hope and pray that we wont let it be passed.

Not for publication: (but for ref)

BRITISH SEAFARERS - THE UPS AND DOWNS

Under revised rules, shipowners will be allowed to exercise pay discrimination on grounds of nationality only. Discrimination on grounds of race or ethnic origin is not allowed.

Talking of nationality, the annual crewing survey by the Seafarers International Research Centre shows that less than 25 per cent of third officers on foreign-going UK-flagged ships (excluding ferries and vessels under 5,000 GRT) are now British nationals. Seventy per cent of masters on the same ships, 54 per cent of chief engineers, 37 per cent of chief officers, 33 per cent of second officers, and less than half of second engineers, are British.

Figures from London Metropolitan University's Centre for International Transport Management show that UK officer numbers have slumped by sixteen per cent since 1997. With recently expressed concern at the lack of jobs available upon qualification for the recent increase in cadet intake, the need for government to implement policies to support the employment of British seafarers is becoming ever more pressing.

And while we're getting carried away with numbers, new research from NUMAST informs us that seventy per cent of seafarers are over forty, while only 12.6 per cent are under thirty (96 per cent of those surveyed were British, and over 86 per cent had been at sea for more than ten years).

We have commented before, and wonder again, if seafaring skills and qualifications will eventually be listed by the UK government as a shortage area eligible for fast-track visa status.