BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) are preparing the latest Seafarer Workforce Report which will prepare ship operations for a post-COVID world.
“The shipping industry is evolving rapidly,” says Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping. “With the challenges and changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, decarbonisation and rapid technological developments, ship operators now more than ever need a management tool that provides them with an understanding of both today’s and tomorrow’s crewing landscape.”
The new report will work to ensure that the regulations and policies being developed will be fit for purpose. It is expected to be published in 2021.
Over the next few months shipping companies, national maritime administrations, and maritime education and training institutions will be asked to contribute to the new report.
Their insight and data on the status of maritime training and recruitment, attrition and retention rates and the number and profiles of seafarers qualified and certificated under the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) Convention will provide the foundation for this authoritative publication.
“I believe that this study will be one of the most important that we have launched. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a crew change crisis as well a financial crisis for our industry that may influence the global supply and demand of seafarers for many years to come.
“The result will help provide answers to where the shipping world is heading and what new crewing initiatives might be required,” says David Loosley, BIMCO Secretary General.
