SEAFARERS: AT THE CORE OF SHIPPING’S FUTURE
Ten able-bodied men have always been at the forefront of carrying the world’s trade
over the years, upon inspection, it was found out that nine out of these ten men directly
employ shipping as their means. This would be the case if the world’s trade major carriers were
likened to “men”, as shipping accounts for a colossal percentage of about 90% of the world’s
traded goods1. However, it is logically undisputable to insert that ships at present do not move
of themselves, there is a human element behind all the gargantuan activities carried out on
water bodies worldwide.
Then, the question comes to mind, “who are these human elements?” These human
elements are the “unsung heroes” in world’s trade, they are the selfless men who have ensured
that global trade was not brought to a catastrophic halt even amidst the world-ravaging COVID-
19 pandemic, they are the over 1.6 million trained professionals2 scattered on the world’s seas
ensuring our daily household goods and business necessities are delivered to us in a healthy,
timely manner. They are the brave, resilient, selfless yet unrecognized seafarers. Therefore, at a
time like this, it is pertinent to turn the lights on our heroic seafarers and highlight their great
significance and unfeigned indispensability, inspect the challenges they face, recommend
stratagems by which these challenges can be assuaged and also take a circumspective look at
what the future holds for them.
Article 1 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 185 defines the
seafarer as “any person who is employed or engaged or works in any capacity on board a
vessel, other than a ship of war, ordinarily engaged in maritime navigation”3. Seafarers are
professionals who have attained considerable competency levels supported by internationally
recognized certificates. A seafarer’s role could range from navigation to engine performance
and vessel/crew maintenance4. To the casual mind, the work of seafarers may appear to be one
of constant fun on ships, though it is admitted the work is full of fascinating adventures, a closer
look reveals the work as one of sordid responsibility.
The selflessness of seafarers lustrously shone amidst the dreadful COVID-19 pandemic.
According to an online article, many seafarers have to offer up their social life while executing
their duties on board, causing them to miss notable family activities such as a child’s birthday or
a relative’s funeral5. As a matter of fact, an estimated amount of 1500 seafarers are doubtful if
they will ever meet their loved ones again because they have been trapped due to the ongoing
Ukraine invasion by the Russian forces 6. Seafarers at times have to face turbulent and
unpleasant climatic conditions and are likewise vulnerable to the impact of harmful pirates
while executing their duties. About a year ago, 15 seafarers were kidnapped by pirates from a
Maltese-Flagged products tanker offshore Nigeria on March 12, 2021 7. It is noteworthy that
under pirate attacks, seafarers are treated in a cruel, harsh manner. All of these do seafarers
risk and sacrifice to keep the world’s trade moving. Is it therefore an overstatement to state
that these seafarers deserve global recognition and heart-felt gratitude? Definitely not, as Dr.
Kittack Lim, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) rightly puts it;
“the dedication and professionalism of more than one and half a million seafarers worldwide
deserve our great admiration and gratitude but most importantly, immediate action”. 8
Sadly, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) in an online publication
reports that “seafarers are among the most exploited and abused groups of workers in the
world”9. It is therefore apposite to inspect some of the challenges and recommend solutions.
Even though seafarers did not stop working assiduously amidst the heat of the pandemic, they
were affected in that about 250,000 seafarers were stranded on ships beyond the closure of
their initial contracts unable to be substituted by another crew because of COVID-19 related
travel restrictions10. Similarly, a good number of seafarers have been on duty tours for well
more than the stipulated standard of eleven (11) months by the ILO11. Therefore, in accordance
with the 75th United Nations General Assembly Resolution adopted on December 1, 2020 12,
each national government should formally and appropriately recognize seafarers as
indispensable “keyworkers” in their respective national economies. This will help to give
adequate prioritization in crucial matters pertaining to the seafarer’s optimal well-being on and
off-board such as timely crew changes and accessibility to vaccines.
Looking at the future with a sincere, circumspective gaze; the future of shipping appears
to be bi-faceted in that there appears to be two contrasting predictions. In the first place,
Captain Tajudeen Alao, President of the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners succinctly
points out in an online publication13 that when there is a prediction that remarkable growth will
occur in the global economy in the space of five years due to the removal of the pandemic and
recession, improvement will be seen in the world’s trade and the need would arise to ship more
goods, hence more men will be required for the task. Evidently, this prediction is buttressed by
the five-year Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO)/International Chamber of
Shipping(ICS) Manpower Report identifying a present inadequacy of about 16,500 officers and a
future need of 147,500 officers by 202514. This shows that there is an urgent need to engender
the interest of youths into maritime-related fields through active orientation and involvement
coupled with ensuring attractive work policies and conditions so that youths who will fill the
gap of the estimated future’s need will be drawn.
Specifically, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) under
the present leadership of Dr. Bashir Jamoh is to be commended for the Nigerian Seafarers
Development Programme (NSDP) commenced in 2009 to address “the dearth of trained and
certified seafarers in Nigeria”15. Presently, over 2000 Nigerians have been trained under the
NSDP16, but while the agency is working arduously ensure that their Maritime Education
Training (MET) aligns with international standards through various avenues just like the recent
renewal of the Memorandum of Union with the World Maritime University17, it is very
important to know that more still needs to be done to provide the adequately trained
workforce for the future’s need.
Contrastingly, there is a perceived future for shipping as Captain Elton Bennett,
Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard reveals in his message on the International Maritime
Day 202118 which essentially made it known that there could be certain factors competing for
the seafarer’s role at the core of shipping’s future namely “advanced technology and artificial
intelligence (AI) in the form of robotics and autonomous vessels”. He further called to mind that
in 2018, the IMO established a regulatory framework regarding autonomous shipping to
balance safety and security, environmental impact and potential cost to the maritime industry
but that as at August 2021, the IMO announced that the “Yara Birkeland”, the world’s first zero-
emission, fully electric, autonomous ship19 will be launched by the end of the year 2021.
Interestingly, the ship took its first and only trip to Oslo on November 18, 2021 20. Does this have
any significance in relation to the seafarer’s role? Definitely, these new trends and
technological advancements presents seafarers with the responsibility of adapting and building
themselves up digitally so as to remain competitive, relevant and most importantly occupy the
core of shipping’s future capably.
The matter is set before us all, shipping remains the largest means of fostering global
trade, it cannot be overemphasized that the human elements at the forefront of this
pantagruelian work both now and for the future deserve genuine appraisal, best work policies
and adequate training to capably occupy their demanding roles at the core of shipping’s future.
The seafarer’s role is challenged and favoured by certain factors but we all must help in our
respective capacities, constantly remembering the undisputable fact that “without shipping,
there can be no shopping!”
REFERENCES
1
Ocean Shipping and Ship Building.
Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/ocean/topics/ocean-shipping/
2
Shipping and World Trade: Global Supply and Demand for Seafarers
Retrieved from https://www.ics-shipping.org/shipping-fact/shipping-and-world-trade-global-
supply-and-demand-for-seafarers/
3
Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention 2003 (No. 185)
Accessible at https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:94:0::NO:::
4
The World of the Seafarer
Qualitative Accounts of Working in the Global Shipping Industry (Editors: Victor Oyaro Gekara,
Helen Sampson)
Accessible at https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-49825-2
5
10 Reasons You Must Thank Seafarers
Retrieved from https://www.marineinsight.com/life-at-sea/10-reasons-you-must-thank-
seafarers/?amp
6
About 1500 Seafarers Trapped Due To Ukraine Invasion, Doubt If They Will Meet Their
Families Again
Retrieved from https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/maritime-grounds-of-ukraine-
a-besieged-port-and-a-chief-officers-insight/?amp
7
Pirates kidnap 15 seafarers from product tanker offshore Nigeria
Retrieved from https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/piracy/pirates-kidnap-15-seafarers-
product-tanker-offshore-nigeria
8
IMO launches a year of action for seafarers
Retrieved from https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/IMO-launches-a-
year-of-action-for-seafarers.aspx
9
10 Reasons You Must Thank Seafarers
Retrieved from https://www.marineinsight.com/life-at-sea/10-reasons-you-must-thank-
seafarers/?amp
10
Supporting seafarers on the frontline of COVID-19
Retrieved from https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Support-for-seafarers-
during-COVID-19.aspx
11
Frequently asked questions about how COVID-19 is impacting seafarers
Retrieved from https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/FAQ-on-crew-
changes-and-repatriation-of-seafarers.aspx
12
IMO welcomes UN resolution on keyworker seafarers
Retrieved from https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/pages/44-seafarers-
UNGA-resolution.aspx
13
Manpower supply: Need to stimulate the shipping industry, plus other essential takeaways
Retrieved from https://www.marinenetworknews.com/2021/08/04/manpower-supply-need-
to-stimulate-the-shipping-industry-plus-other-essential-takeaways/
14
BIMCO/ICS Manpower Report predicts potential shortage of almost 150,000 officers by 2025
Retrieved from
https://www.bimco.org/news/priority-news/20160517_bimco_manpower_report
15
200 CADETS SET SAIL AS AMAECHI FLAGS OFF NIMASA’s NSDP-3
Retrieved from https://nimasa.gov.ng/200-cadets-set-sail-as-amaechi-flags-off-nimasas-nsdp-
3/#:~:text=NSDP%20is%20an%20interventionist%20programme,since%20its
%20commencement%20in%202009.
16
200 CADETS SET SAIL AS AMAECHI FLAGS OFF NIMASA’s NSDP-3
Retrieved from https://nimasa.gov.ng/200-cadets-set-sail-as-amaechi-flags-off-nimasas-nsdp-
3/#:~:text=NSDP%20is%20an%20interventionist%20programme,since%20its
%20commencement%20in%202009.
17
CAPACITY BUILDING: NIMASA RENEWS MoU WITH WORLD MARITIME UNIVERSITY
Retrieved from https://nimasa.gov.ng/capacity-building-nimasa-renews-mou-with-world-
maritime-university/
18
World Maritime Day 2021 Retrieved from: Great Belize Television-Channel 5 Livestream.
Accessible at https://youtu.be/3zvQ44mEXAE
19
About Yara Birkeland
Accessible at https://www.yara.com/news-and-media/press-kits/yara-birkeland-press-kit/
20
World's first electric autonomous cargo ship takes to the water
Accessible at https://newatlas.com/marine/worlds-first-electric-autonomous-cargo-ship-yara-
birkeland-debut/
WORD COUNT EXCLUDING REFERENCES: 1,309
NAME: OYEDELE PHILEMON OLUWAKOYEJO
PHONE NUMBER: 07018024807
