Wansworth
Well-known member
According to Spanish national news this evening there is a world shortage of crews for the merchant Navy,young people don’t want to go to sea apparently
Short of crew
- Thread starter Wansworth
- Start date
Bajansailor
Well-known member
I don't blame them really - conditions have not really improved for Merchant Navy crews in recent years.
In fact one could argue that in many ways they have got worse.
My Dad spent a year as a ship's doctor with the Blue Funnel Line in the late 50's - he was on a general cargo vessel of about 8,000 gross tons, and they had about 60 crew on board. My dad even had his own personal steward. During this year he made two round trip voyages from Britain to the Far East and back via Suez.
They would usually spend 2 - 3 weeks in each port that they visited, loading and discharging cargo, so there was ample time for shore leave.
Contracts were long, but the time in port helped to compensate for this, and his ships had bars on board, as they also carried 12 passengers. One of his 'duties' was to socialise and drink with the passengers.....
Contrast this with the crew on a 'small' container ship nowadays - they might have 12 - 15 crew in total, and these crew would very rarely have any shore leave, as they are often in Port for only a few hours, and then they are frantically busy with cargo operations.
Even a large container ship won't have much more crew, and everybody will be generally be busy with cargo operations when alongside.
Add to this the fact that many crew members are serving 6 month contracts on board (some are 9 months even) - one positive aspect is that wifi for ship's crews is becoming more accessible, but even so, that is a long time to spend away from your family.
And so many ships now have strict no alcohol rules on board, with mandatory testing of the crew members - due to a small minority of crew members in the past getting drunk and causing accidents, this has resulted in many shipping lines issuing a blanket ban on alcohol consumption at sea (not even beer is allowed).
Twenty odd years ago, on completion of a survey job on a ship, I would often be offered a beer in the Mess by the Chief Officer (or an Engineer) - now they are invariably not allowed to carry any on board.
I remember one survey job a few years ago though on a small Russian bulk carrier - there were signs up in the accommodation block about the management company's zero alcohol policy - yet there was a large bin on the aft deck full of vodka and beer bottles..... - it helped that the whole crew were Russian and they were all in tacit agreement to allow drinking on board.
In fact one could argue that in many ways they have got worse.
My Dad spent a year as a ship's doctor with the Blue Funnel Line in the late 50's - he was on a general cargo vessel of about 8,000 gross tons, and they had about 60 crew on board. My dad even had his own personal steward. During this year he made two round trip voyages from Britain to the Far East and back via Suez.
They would usually spend 2 - 3 weeks in each port that they visited, loading and discharging cargo, so there was ample time for shore leave.
Contracts were long, but the time in port helped to compensate for this, and his ships had bars on board, as they also carried 12 passengers. One of his 'duties' was to socialise and drink with the passengers.....
Contrast this with the crew on a 'small' container ship nowadays - they might have 12 - 15 crew in total, and these crew would very rarely have any shore leave, as they are often in Port for only a few hours, and then they are frantically busy with cargo operations.
Even a large container ship won't have much more crew, and everybody will be generally be busy with cargo operations when alongside.
Add to this the fact that many crew members are serving 6 month contracts on board (some are 9 months even) - one positive aspect is that wifi for ship's crews is becoming more accessible, but even so, that is a long time to spend away from your family.
And so many ships now have strict no alcohol rules on board, with mandatory testing of the crew members - due to a small minority of crew members in the past getting drunk and causing accidents, this has resulted in many shipping lines issuing a blanket ban on alcohol consumption at sea (not even beer is allowed).
Twenty odd years ago, on completion of a survey job on a ship, I would often be offered a beer in the Mess by the Chief Officer (or an Engineer) - now they are invariably not allowed to carry any on board.
I remember one survey job a few years ago though on a small Russian bulk carrier - there were signs up in the accommodation block about the management company's zero alcohol policy - yet there was a large bin on the aft deck full of vodka and beer bottles.....
- it helped that the whole crew were Russian and they were all in tacit agreement to allow drinking on board.Wansworth
Well-known member
I was on three types of small ships……one owner skipper with e anda third hand and old friends of the skipper for occassional trips…….in general a easy going family outing atmosphere….the second was on company ships with skipper mate and Capr Verde crew normally three…..no problems everyone knew their job although the capeVerde crew in general had their own social life ashore and aboard……the third was the same coasters but with British crew who if possible did the least work showed no initiative and made life a general pain with problems with drink in harbour
ylop
Well-known member
Interesting. Young people don’t want to go to sea or the shipping companies have squeezed the t&c’s and increasingly employed people from low income economies so young people have better options elsewhere? I’m not sure alcohol is the problem (gen Z drink less anyway), six months away probably is, and crap wifi won’t help.
newtothis
Well-known member
A mixture of both. For Filipino crew and eastern European officers, the pay - while low by our standards - is high compared to what they could make at home.
You're not going to get an awful lot of western 20-somethings signing up for the deep-sea trades on foreign-owned ships, but there are still administrations that provide good training and union jobs, particularly in the US - thanks to the Jones Act - Germany, Denmark, etc.
If there's a clear career path up to officer class, whether for western or emerging market crew, it can still be a good career option. Masters and chiefs make a good whack, and can come ashore into many roles in shipping and maritime-related companies.
But if you can only see a life as a deckhand or in the lower rungs of the engine room it doesn't offer a lot for western Gen Zs. Why go away for dead-end jobs with low pay when there are plenty at home.
Re: the drinking, if you work for the French and Italians, you're good. Not so much the Danes and Germans.
steve yates
Well-known member
No, its not that young people dont want to go to sea, but more to do with the vast majority of merchant shipping hiring foreign crew cheaper. Why train for something when you know there will have no jobs for you at the end?
newtothis
Well-known member
38mess
Well-known member
Deleted wrong thread.