Abstract
The shortage of junior seafarers in China in recent years raises a salient question as to how international shipping companies can improve retention rates among Chinese crews. This issue has become increasingly prominent in the context of a global lockdown resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper examines the dilemma through the lens of the “bond” between seafarers and the shipping companies they service, a term used to reflect the need to recognise, consent and integrate into management systems, safety culture, and organizational values. The value of this bond concept is investigated in a survey of Chinese crews (N = 318). The paper aims to reveal the features and underlying factors of the bond, and its influence on needs, perceptions and seafaring careers in foreign shipping companies. The study finds that the majority of respondents do not have a bond with their shipping company, but typically do wish to develop one. Furthermore, this form of attachment appears to be closely related to career satisfaction and retention. To address the shortage of junior seafarers in China, we call for the development of mutual trust, respect and shared values between global seafarers and international shipping companies. A number of policy recommendations are provided.
Highlights
As the largest seafarer supply country in the world (BIMCO/ICS 2016), China is facing a severe challenge in securing a sufficient supply of junior officers for international shipping
The supply of 3rd officers and 3rd engineers, has decreased by 26.5 and 25.4%, respectively, in 2019 though the enrolment of new students in Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutes nationwide has increased by 26.1% from 14,960 in 2015 to 18,864 in 2019 (MoT 2020)
(2021) 6:3 statistics from the top ten MET universities and colleges in China, the average embarkation rate of graduates has declined from 36.5% in 2017 to 28.0% in 2019 and from 31% to 26.3% within the top four MET universities during the same period (MoT 2020)
Summary
As the largest seafarer supply country in the world (BIMCO/ICS 2016), China is facing a severe challenge in securing a sufficient supply of junior officers for international shipping. Given the importance of multicultural experience for the career development of Chinese seafarers, we asked the respondents to indicate their preferences in relation to multinational crewing patterns, with specific reference to all Chinese, mixed, or neutral.
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