Will there be any crew at all? Crew crisis at the heart of discussions
As automation creeps in and skilled seafarers head for shore, the commercial workboat sector faces a crewing crisis that no one seems to have a ready answer for.
According to the European Commission, the number of EU-national seafarers has declined significantly due to global labour competition and cost pressures.
At the same time, data from the UK Department for Transport shows that around 90% of seafarers in the UK fleet are non-UK nationals, highlighting increasing reliance on international labour.
Crewing panel discussion
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the overall supply of certified officers in Europe has remained relatively stable, but this masks structural issues such as ageing crews and skills shortages. Furthermore, the European Maritime Safety Agency says ongoing concerns about recruitment and training capacity. These trends are particularly acute in specialised segments like workboats, where fragmented data and cyclical demand complicate workforce planning.
At the Seawork conference held in Rotterdam last week, part of the Get Set for Workboat 2050 series, industry stakeholders shared their opinions on one of the most pressing matters in maritime today.
“Why don’t we just get rid of them?” asked Workboat Association CEO Kerrie Forster, moderating a panel session on crew training and behavioural change. “Plan for leaner crews. Could you remove people entirely?”
The question set the tone for a discussion in which operators, policy advisors and naval architects acknowledged that the sector is struggling to train the people it has, attract the people it needs, and prepare for a future in which the role of the seafarer is changing faster than the training frameworks around it.
A skills gap that is already here
Douwe van der Meulen, policy advisor for Social Affairs and Maritime Security at the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), set out the numbers.
“What does upskilling mean for crew? It’s a significant challenge,” he said. “Around 250,000 seafarers need to be upskilled in the coming years – 600,000 globally. We have created a maritime skills forum for green skills, digital skills, maritime skills, with a strong focus on the technical aspect. But it’s people who determine the effectiveness of the sector as a whole.”
“Changes make the appointment of seafarers very difficult,” said Tim Spitters, business manager - Onshore with TOS People. “International crews are changing. Automation is changing things. There’s a gap between what skills are being taught and what the industry needs.”
Joseph Hodgson, naval architect at OS Energy, said there is “a lack of understanding and perception” about what the modern workboat requires of its crew and what training institutions are delivering.
The knowledge vacuum
Wencke Boerrigter, owner of Polestar Publishing, which publishes materials specifically for training crew, said operators needed to stop keeping information to themselves and worrying about losing crew, because standards needed to be defined across the board.
“Now crew members simply go to YouTube,” Boerrigter said. “So as a priority we are re-developing how we disseminate this information and using more and more digital tools. There’s a huge gap in the curriculum of seafarers.”
Boerrigter also pointed to the way knowledge is transferred on the job.
“Every tug operator has its own standard. They can change. Also, crew come on board and learn from a captain that’s been around for 20 years and mistakes are being passed down. But we try to make sure the same basic knowledge is the same all over the sector.”
“What happens if you invest in someone and they leave?” asked Kerrie Forster. “To which the answer is what happens if you don’t invest in someone and they stay?”
Peter van Wijngaarden, managing director of Van Wijngaarden Marine Services, said crews were going back on shore much more quickly then they used to.
“The average age of crew is 34, and the average stay with a company is nine years,” he said. “We find that the time between offshore and moving to onshore is getting smaller.”
Van der Meulen said the picture is consistent across Europe. “It’s the same message across the EU. Shorter transitions within a company, moving to onshore is smaller as well.”
On new fuel technologies, Hodgson said the training burden was not being addressed early enough.
“For example on a hydrogen vessel, the cost of upfront training is huge,” he said. “The earlier that knowledge can be put into the curriculum, the better.”
Will there be any crew at all?
Hodgson ruled out ‘getting rid’ of crew as Forster had initially provocatively proposed.
“Autonomous vessels are way too early at this stage to handle a workboat,” he said. “People are not going to go anywhere. A 30-to-40-year-old vessel will not be autonomous. Workboat 2050 may be a world with less crew onboard, but the risk is so high and the regulations – we are a long way from that.”
Boerrigter said the issue lay not with crew themselves but with how they are managed.
“We see them as a production cost rather than a key component,” she said.
When asked what practical support seafarers could expect during this period of change, van der Meulen said: “Through lots of ongoing discussions. It’s a matter of waiting.”
Forster, summarising the session, said: “From a shipowner’s perspective, if we want crew to be around for a while, we need commitment and responsibility for them, and training that fits the purpose for the job in hand. People won’t be safe just by reading a book.”
Image; From left: Kerrie Forster, Tim Spitters, Wencke Boerrigter, Peter van Wijngaarden, Douwe van der Meulen, Joseph Hodgson
According to the European Commission, the number of EU-national seafarers has declined significantly due to global labour competition and cost pressures.
At the same time, data from the UK Department for Transport shows that around 90% of seafarers in the UK fleet are non-UK nationals, highlighting increasing reliance on international labour.
Crewing panel discussion
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the overall supply of certified officers in Europe has remained relatively stable, but this masks structural issues such as ageing crews and skills shortages. Furthermore, the European Maritime Safety Agency says ongoing concerns about recruitment and training capacity. These trends are particularly acute in specialised segments like workboats, where fragmented data and cyclical demand complicate workforce planning.
At the Seawork conference held in Rotterdam last week, part of the Get Set for Workboat 2050 series, industry stakeholders shared their opinions on one of the most pressing matters in maritime today.
“Why don’t we just get rid of them?” asked Workboat Association CEO Kerrie Forster, moderating a panel session on crew training and behavioural change. “Plan for leaner crews. Could you remove people entirely?”
The question set the tone for a discussion in which operators, policy advisors and naval architects acknowledged that the sector is struggling to train the people it has, attract the people it needs, and prepare for a future in which the role of the seafarer is changing faster than the training frameworks around it.
A skills gap that is already here
Douwe van der Meulen, policy advisor for Social Affairs and Maritime Security at the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), set out the numbers.
“What does upskilling mean for crew? It’s a significant challenge,” he said. “Around 250,000 seafarers need to be upskilled in the coming years – 600,000 globally. We have created a maritime skills forum for green skills, digital skills, maritime skills, with a strong focus on the technical aspect. But it’s people who determine the effectiveness of the sector as a whole.”
“Changes make the appointment of seafarers very difficult,” said Tim Spitters, business manager - Onshore with TOS People. “International crews are changing. Automation is changing things. There’s a gap between what skills are being taught and what the industry needs.”
Joseph Hodgson, naval architect at OS Energy, said there is “a lack of understanding and perception” about what the modern workboat requires of its crew and what training institutions are delivering.
The knowledge vacuum
Wencke Boerrigter, owner of Polestar Publishing, which publishes materials specifically for training crew, said operators needed to stop keeping information to themselves and worrying about losing crew, because standards needed to be defined across the board.
“Now crew members simply go to YouTube,” Boerrigter said. “So as a priority we are re-developing how we disseminate this information and using more and more digital tools. There’s a huge gap in the curriculum of seafarers.”
Boerrigter also pointed to the way knowledge is transferred on the job.
“Every tug operator has its own standard. They can change. Also, crew come on board and learn from a captain that’s been around for 20 years and mistakes are being passed down. But we try to make sure the same basic knowledge is the same all over the sector.”
“What happens if you invest in someone and they leave?” asked Kerrie Forster. “To which the answer is what happens if you don’t invest in someone and they stay?”
Peter van Wijngaarden, managing director of Van Wijngaarden Marine Services, said crews were going back on shore much more quickly then they used to.
“The average age of crew is 34, and the average stay with a company is nine years,” he said. “We find that the time between offshore and moving to onshore is getting smaller.”
Van der Meulen said the picture is consistent across Europe. “It’s the same message across the EU. Shorter transitions within a company, moving to onshore is smaller as well.”
On new fuel technologies, Hodgson said the training burden was not being addressed early enough.
“For example on a hydrogen vessel, the cost of upfront training is huge,” he said. “The earlier that knowledge can be put into the curriculum, the better.”
Will there be any crew at all?
Hodgson ruled out ‘getting rid’ of crew as Forster had initially provocatively proposed.
“Autonomous vessels are way too early at this stage to handle a workboat,” he said. “People are not going to go anywhere. A 30-to-40-year-old vessel will not be autonomous. Workboat 2050 may be a world with less crew onboard, but the risk is so high and the regulations – we are a long way from that.”
Boerrigter said the issue lay not with crew themselves but with how they are managed.
“We see them as a production cost rather than a key component,” she said.
When asked what practical support seafarers could expect during this period of change, van der Meulen said: “Through lots of ongoing discussions. It’s a matter of waiting.”
Forster, summarising the session, said: “From a shipowner’s perspective, if we want crew to be around for a while, we need commitment and responsibility for them, and training that fits the purpose for the job in hand. People won’t be safe just by reading a book.”
Image; From left: Kerrie Forster, Tim Spitters, Wencke Boerrigter, Peter van Wijngaarden, Douwe van der Meulen, Joseph Hodgson
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