Crew crunch reaching crisis point : Nov 26 - Lloydslist
Arthur Bowring : Real shortage is going to bite soon
THE maritime industry 'has no plan' to cope with the shortage of trained and
competent crew and officers but has so far been spared the full effects of the
crewing crunch, a leading industry figure has warned.
Hong Kong Shipowners' Association managing director Arthur Bowring told the
opening session of the SeaTrans Asia conference in Shanghai that the crew
shortage was a result of fleet growth in the past three years which had
outpaced desperate attempts to plug the gaps, promoting junior officers and
even seeing training staff return to sea service.
"How could we have predicted that so many units would be added to the world
fleet in three years with almost no scrapping? Five years ago we were wondering
if there would be enough money to replace the tanker fleet with double-hull
ships by 2010 or whether adding one yard in Korea might upset the supply and
demand balance," he said.
Mr Bowring added there was "always the expectation that we would muddle through
because that's what we do, but fleet growth has turned this onto a crisis". The
'typical' reaction was to promote as many seafarers as possible but this ran
the risk of bringing down far-reaching consequences on the industry.
"We have used up the buffer [of seafarers that could be promoted] and the real
shortage is going to bite soon. Are we prepared? No. Do we have a plan? No. And
as a result we risk the direct threat of new regulation."
He said the immediate result would be 'big business' for those selling
fraudulent certificates of competency and that 'poaching and promoting' would
continue as shipowners and managers struggled to cover their commitments.
"I don't see people discussing it. This is a crisis situation and we have to
manage it. You wouldn't run a factory this way, you wouldn't run an airline
this way."
Mr. Bowring said that by next year the crewing crisis could be acute enough to
prevent ships from sailing but owners unprepared to risk losing charter revenue
might apply to their flag states for single or multiple trip exemptions to
operate without the required complement.
And he warned that pollution incidents or casualties that found operational
failures to blame might encourage pressure groups to make the case for more
unilateral regulation, citing ships as a potential threat to the environment.
"Some large containerships carry as much fuel as a small tanker. If there is an
incident which finds the certificates were there but the crew was not, it could
be an excuse to retrofit double hulls to fuel tanks," he said.
Mr. Bowring said the industry would weather the storm but should take steps now
to avoid the situation worsening by at least acting to retain experienced
crews. That meant improvements in pay and conditions, more direct employment
and the kind of benefits that workers enjoyed by those ashore.
"We need to re-package the maritime career and that means pensions, direct
employment and health benefits. But these things are in our interest. We
shouldn't entrust our ships to people we don't know."
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