How many seafarers are there

The Survey has 6, seafarer respondents from more than 30 countries. The survey is the inaugural report. Many of SIRC's publications and reports are available to download. To pass their free time on the ship, the crew has organised table tennis, basketball and cricket tournaments. It keeps them distracted. Crews themselves are increasingly refusing to extend their contracts.

This was the case on the ship Marvin Confidence, which was in Chile when a crew member became ill and after many difficulties was able to dock in Panama when the crew refused to continue working under such conditions and exercised their right to request assistance. The crisis has many dimensions and the number of stranded seafarers reflects an equal number of people who are currently unable to make a living.

The fatigue is also evident in those who are stuck at home, without employment, and in many cases without aid, waiting to relieve their fellow seafarers. He is now unemployed until further notice and says he feels powerless. Meanwhile, as this article goes to press, Captain Vij and his crew are still trying to get ashore, spend two weeks in quarantine in a hotel in Malaysia, a country they do not know, after which Vij will spend another 14 days in a hotel in India before finally being able to join his family.

Equal Times is a trilingual news and opinion website focusing on labour, human rights, culture, development, the environment, politics and the economy from a social justice perspective. Follow Us. The current supply-demand situation highlights a shortage of approximately 16, officers and a surplus of around , ratings.

While the global supply of officers is forecast to increase steadily, this trend is expected to be outpaced by increasing demand. The forecast growth in the world merchant fleet over the next ten years, and its anticipated demand for seafarers, will likely continue the trend of an overall shortage in the supply of officers. This is despite improved recruitment and training levels and reductions in officer wastage rates over the past five years.

Future outlook indicates that the industry and relevant stakeholders should not expect there to be an abundant supply of qualified and competent seafarers without concerted efforts and measures to address key manpower issues, through promotion of careers at sea, enhancement of maritime education and training worldwide, addressing the retention of seafarers.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign in. Forgot your password? Get help. Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Subscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox. More from Reuters.