UK transport secretary moves to ensure P&O Ferries will pay a fair wage
UK transport secretary Grant Shapps has moved to ensure that P&O Ferries will never operate ...
© Jonathan Mitchell
As the world faces up to a dearth of seafarers, the UK government has pledged its support to do “whatever is necessary” to attract people back into the industry.
As London Shipping Week began, deputy director of maritime growth for the department of Transport Rod Patterson said the focus on seafarers formed part of a wider industrial strategy.
Some experts have put the global shortage of seafarers as high as 60,500, forecast to rise to more than 100,000 by 2025. And while the ...
Comment on this article
Samuel
November 24, 2017 at 4:02 amAn interesting article, but you have missed out a few important aspects which will ensure that few British youngsters will ever join this profession –
1) The excruciatingly long hours of work (average 8-12 per day without any weekends or sunday offs) and long contracts (average 7 months, working 7 days a week on a merchant ship. Offshore vessels are an exception with high competittion)
2) The stiff competition from equally qualified and more willing to work long hours youngsters from the Philippines, Ukraine and India for the same salary (average $ 3000 for an Indian 2nd officer)
3) The high salaries for British officers (usually double to 2.5 times that of their Asian counterparts) – collectively bargained by the UK seafarers unions with ship owners