Contributions of seafarers to the global economy

ON behalf of the Secretary-General of IMO, it is indeed a honour and privilege for me to be with you today in this wonderful, vibrant city of Lagos, and to have the opportunity during the celebrations of the World Maritime Day on the “Year of the Seafarer,” to address for the second time today, on the topic “Contribution of Seafarers to the Global Economy.”
The issue of seafarers and consultation among key stakeholders in the shipping industry will, I believe, become the biggest challenge that the industry will, I believe, become the biggest challenge that the industry and all those connected with it will face over the coming years.
I would like to begin by congratulating the organisers, the Federal Ministry of Transport, it agencies and stakeholders, for their initiative and for their efforts in bringing this forum together.
To talk about the contribution of seafarers to the global economy, we need to, first, define “Globalisation,” which may mean different things to different people. For some, it is the culprit of poverty and war, for others, globalisation is a requirement to economic development for a growing world population.
For the maritime industry, it is simply a concept that describes a trend in international trade. It means:
• That trade is growing faster than the world’s Gross Domestic Product, and
• That this trade is not only in finished goods and services, but increasingly in components and services that are used within globalised production processes. Maritime transport is growing because it is required to move traded goods and components, and trade in maritime services it itself also taking place on an ever more global scale.
At the same time, maritime business itself is probably the most globalised industry. Most maritime transport provided between two or more countries, and the service providers no longer need to be nationals of the same countries whose cargo they move.
In fact, a simple commercial transaction may easily involve people and property from a dozen different countries, e.g. a Greek owned vessel, built in Korea, may be chartered to a Nigerian operator, who employs Philippine seafarers via a Cypriot crewing agent, is registered in Panama, insured in the UK, and transport German made cargo in the name of a Swiss freight forwarder from a Dutch port to Argentina, through terminals that are concessioned to port operators from Hong Kong and Australia. To complicate matters, the vessel could end up being held by Somali pirates! International standardisation, an important component of globalisation in general, also affects shipping.
Thanks to containerisation, any liner shipping company from anywhere in the world can now easily enter new markets and provide its services globally. Equivalently, international operator are now in a position to take a concession of a container terminal in any port of the world, suppliers of port and ship equipment produce and sell globally, and ISO’s and IMO’s standards concerning quality, safety and training apply equally on all international waters. Any discussion of the impact of globalisation on maritime business will be incomplete if the human element (seafarer) is not included.
I am sure that many of you are former seafarers, who may still have a very strong affinity with all those, who go down to the sea in ships and on whom we all rely to a very large extent indeed. To this end, I would like to highlight the important service that a seafarer carries for the benefit of mankind – a service that has never been readily recognised.
As you are aware, more than ninety per cent of the world trade is carried by ships and these ships are manned and operated by seafarers. Hence it can be safely said that ninety per cent of mankind’s needs are being served by directly or indirectly by seafarers. This being the case, we could safely conclude that about 1.5 million seafarers cater to the needs of ninety per cent of over seven billion persons in this world. I may be wrong, but I am yet to find a parallel where so few have served so many. Yet, God forbid if there is an accident, then it is the same seafarer, who is vilified and in a growing number of cases criminalised for something, which may not be negligence. In such cases, the poor seafarer is in a situation where instead of the normal adage – innocent until proven guilty, it is taken for granted that one is guilty until proved innocent. I think the time has come for the world to stand up and recognise the valuable services being rendered by the seafarers and to honour them accordingly.
Furthermore, the civil society is generally unaware of the important role played by the shipping industry in their day to day life. They seem to be blissfully unaware that without shipping there would be virtually no international commerce and, as a result and to use the phase of the secretary-general of IMO, “One half of the world would starve while the other half would freeze.”
The only time they become aware of the shipping industry is after a maritime accident – where a bird covered with oil on a polluted beach is flashed all over the newspapers and the electronic media. Hence, before going into further aspects for the development of the seafarer, I would appeal to one and all here to project a positive image of the industry that has a good track record and a good story to tell – one that contributes significantly to global and sustainable prosperity by carrying the overwhelming majority of world trade safely, securely, efficiently and at a fraction of the environmental impact of other modes of transport.
We should not miss a single opportunity to raise the profile of shipping as a vibrant industry, which, in keeping with its corporate social responsibilities, provides rewarding, stimulating and long-term career prospects. In so doing, we should focus not only on ensuring that politicians and the general public are better informed of shipping’s great value to the international community, but also on promoting a career at sea and the variety of opportunities it offers among the children and young people in schools and universities all over the world.
Manpower shortage
For quite some time the major part of the world trade has been carried by ships. In fact today, more than 90 per cent of the international world trade is carried by ships. These ships are manned and operated by seafarers.
However, the supply of seafarers in sufficient numbers continues to cause concern, in particular when set against the unprecedented rise in orders for new buildings. The BIMCO/ISF manpower study of 2005 estimated a shortfall of 10,000 officers or a 2 per cent of the total workforce and projected that this shortfall would increase to 27,000 or about 6 per cent of the total workforce. The study, of course, did not take into account the recent unprecedented rise in orders for new buildings.
This shortage is exacerbated by the apparent reluctance of young people to join the ranks, take on higher duties or, even more importantly, to remain in service. This coupled with recent unhelpful legislation and practices, which have the potential to discourage them to do so, continues to be a challenge for all of us.
It is no exaggeration to say that manning, training and all the other aspects of the human element in shipping are central to many of these issues, which now face our industry. Safety, security, shipping’s environmental credentials and, indeed, the whole future sustainability of the industry – subsequently of mankind also are all dependent to a great extent on the cultivation of capable and effective manpower resource.
Until recently, much of the regulatory process within IMO was focused on developing measures, which sought to improve what might be termed the hardware of shipping – the ships themselves, the way they are built, the way they are equipped, the way they are maintained. But, in looking at how improvements in the performance of shipping can best be achieved in this new century, IMO has taken the conscious decision to concentrate its efforts much more strongly on the human element. This “shifting the emphasis onto people” has become enshrined as one of the Organisation’s guiding principles for IMO in the new millennium.
Year of the seafarer
When IMO first mooted the idea that the theme for 2010 should focus on “the seafarer” we wanted to do two things; first, we wanted to draw attention to a workforce that is largely unheralded and unacknowledged, often even within the industry it serves: and, second, we wanted to extend the theme beyond the regular World Maritime Day celebrations and to galvanise a momentum that would last for the whole year and, indeed, beyond. We wanted 2010 to be the start of this momentum; but we certainly do not want the end of 2010 to be the end of the initiative.
As was mentioned in the secretary-general’s World Maritime Day message earlier today, at the beginning of 2010, we identified three targets that we would be happy to see achieved in conjunction with our “Year of the Seafarer” initiative. They were:
One, increased awareness among the general public of the indispensable services seafarers render to civil society at large.
Two, a clear message to seafarers that we recognise and appreciate their services; that we do care about them, and that we do all that we can look after and protect them when the circumstances of their life at sea so warrant and
Three, redoubled efforts at the regulatory level to move from words to deeds to create a better world in which seafarers can operate.





I think I can safely say that progress has been made towards all three of these. It was always envisaged that the theme would constitute a focal point around which the maritime community as a whole could rally, to seek ways to recognize and pay tribute to seafarers for their unique contribution to society and the vital part they play in the facilitation of global trade. This has undoubtedly been happening and there have been numerous examples of this from all over the world. The fact that you are gathered here today is a good example of the action taken by authorities in Nigeria towards this call.
The “Year of the Seafarers” has also helped to re-focus attention on the pressing need to come to grips with the long-predicted labour-supply shortage in the shipping industry – a shortage that may have been temporarily alleviated by the recent downturn in global trade but which, nevertheless, remains ever-present. This makes it imperative for shipping to re-launch itself as a career of choice for the high-calibre, high-quality young people of today. In this context, the “Year of the Seafarer,” has added valuable impetus to the “Go to Sea!” campaign, which we launched at IMO Headquarters in November 2008, in association with the International Labour Organisation, the “Round Table” of shipping industry associations and the International Transport Worker’s Federation.
Above all, though, the “Year of the seafarer” provides an excellent opportunity to reassure those, who labour at the “sharp end” of the industry – the seafarers themselves – that those of us, who work in other areas of the maritime community, and yet whose action have such a bearing on seafarers’ everyday lives, understand the extreme pressures they face and approach our tasks with genuine interest and concern.
Manila amendments to the STCW convention and code
Undeniably, the most crucial, central and pivotal role in IMO’s work in this respect is played by the sub-committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping – STW, which, through the Maritime Safety Committee, has the mandate to regulate how shipmasters, chief engineers, deck and engine-room watchkeepers and ratings – in other words, the entire human element manning ships – should discharge their responsibilities relating to safeguarding life at sea, property and the marine environment.
The first international convention on seafarer training standards – the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) – was adopted in 1978. And since then, IMO has regularly revised and updated that Convention bearing in mind the importance of the human element in safety management ashore and afloat.
In this respect, the most significant achievement of the year undoubtedly came in June this year, with the adoption, by a diplomatic Conference in Manila, the Philippines, of major revisions to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Wachkeeping for Seafarers – the STCW Convention and Code. Scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 2012, these revisions will ensure that the necessary global standards will be in place to train and certify seafarers to operate technologically advanced ships for some time to come.
The seafarer dilemma and opportunities
Various technological advances have helped reduce the number of crew required on board a ship compared to the period before the 1980s. This has by no means diminished the role of seafarers in the maritime business, on the contrary, crewing costs still constitute a major component of the operating cost of a ship, and crew-related issues remain relatively complex. The impacts of globalisation on seafaring serve as excellent illustrations of the pros and cons of globalisation in general.
Seafaring is a glorious profession and has no room for error or negligence. Indeed the education of a young sailor is incomplete if it does not include indoctrination for facing calamities at sea or ashore. Successful seafarers are unique individuals. The uniqueness comes not from the possession of any extraordinary intellectual capacity but from the possession of simple common-sense (often referred at sea as behaving in a “seamanlike manner.)” The training and skills required for seafarers are by no means restricted to any particular nationality, race, religion or creed.
On the contrary, well-trained seafarers from a poor country can do the same job as effectively as their well trained, colleagues from a developed nation at drastically reduced cost to the ship owner. Herein lies the dilemma – globalisation has opened up avenues of opportunity for seafarers from developing countries, such as Nigeria, at the expense of those from traditional maritime countries such as the North European nations, the United States and Japan.
Today’s labour market for seafarers is perhaps the most globalised, standards and minimum wages are agreed globally, as for example in the “Geneva Accord” (ILO 2001), where “Representatives of shipowners and seafarers” adopt a historic accord on the future development of labour standards in the international shipping industry.
It may be recalled that in today’s global society, the supply of seagoing manpower, not just to national fleets but to foreign ships, too, has become a major revenue earner for some developing countries such as the Philippines and India, with their long and powerful tradition of seafarers’ training.
But what Africa’s position in this regard?
You cannot examine the role of the African seafarers without briefly looking at the historical developments on the continent. Trade relations between Africa and the rest of the world have remained more-or-less the same since colonial times. Primary commodities from Africa are traded for manufactured goods from industrialised countries, transported by international shipping line, which are dominated by operators in developed countries. Just a few African shipping lines have managed to stay in the market to-date. Many, including the Nigerian National Shipping Lines, collapsed in the late 1970s and 80s following, the economic difficulties of the era as well as unfair conditions governing international shipping. Lack of African shipping lines meant that there were no training facilities for African seafarers.
For quite some time now, African maritime transport stakeholders have been reflecting on cost-effective strategies for building the capacity of Africa to invest in the various maritime businesses, especially in the ownership and management of shipping lines. Given the previous unsuccessful arrangements in many African countries whereby only the public sector (government institutions) managed national fleets, the new perspective has been to explore a§ number of possibilities with an enhanced role of the private sector and cross border (multinational) investments.
Some of you may recall that in addressing the various maritime issues on the continent, the African Union Commission in collaboration with the Federal Republic of Nigeria oragnised the First Conference of Ministers responsible for Maritime Transport held in Abuja from 19 to 23 February 2007. The ministers considered a comprehensive maritime agenda for Africa and adopted a Declaration and Plan of Action for the development of maritime transport in the continent.
Later in April 2008, a conference of ministers of Transport (all modes) was convened by the African Union in Algiers, Algeria where the continental maritime transport Plan of Action, among others, was reviewed and updated. As a follow-up, the second African Union Conference of Ministers Responsible for Maritime Transport under the theme “Creation of a Safe, Security and Clean Maritime Transport Industry” was convened and held in Durban, the Republic of South Africa, from 15 to 16 October, 2009.
The outcome of that Conference was the adoption by the Minister of:
• The African maritime transport charter;
• The Durban Resolution on Maritime Security, Safety and Protection of the Maritime Environment in Africa; and
• Maritime Transport Plan of Action 2009-2012.
Article 3 of the African Maritime Charter has thirteen objectives including two, which are relevant to the seafarers, namely:
• Promote the provision of maritime education and training at all levels including secondary schools, and
• Promote the employment of seafarers, decent working conditions and training of seafarers.
The Plan of Action constitutes a negotiation document vis-à-vis development partners likely to support Africa in its efforts at developing maritime transport in the continent. One of the objectives in the Plan of Action is to “develop Africa’s training capacities in the area of maritime and port administration.”
If Africa is to benefit from the opportunities presented by the envisaged worldwide shortage of seafarers, then the first pre-requisite is to develop and build capacities of its maritime training institutions in line with global standards. There are 13 maritime training centres in Africa (including one Regional Maritime Academy and one Regional Maritime University) providing training for most of the seafarers in the shipping industry. For many years, one of the major identified problems has been the shortage of sea-time training vessels for cadets attending Maritime academies in developing countries.
In the recent past, IMO and Gdynia Maritime University have organised three training programmes for a total of 87 cadets from African countries on board the Polish training vessel Dar Mlodziezy. For this “Year of the Seafarer,” part of our programme for Capacity Building include exploring a mechanism for finding some training berths on vessels for cadets’ sea time.
To assist African maritime training institutions, and within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IMO and the Chinese Ministry of Transport, a very successful training workshop attended by 20 Principals/Trainers from 10 African Maritime Academies (including Maritime Academy of Nigeria) was held in Shanghai, from 18 to 31 October, 2008. China hosted and funded the workshop at the Shanghai Maritime University (SMU).
Following that event, a co-operation agreement between the Ghana Regional Maritime University (RMU) and the SMU was signed and joint training programmes between the two universities are being developed.
Another outcome of this workshop was the formation of an Association of African Maritime Academies.
In September 2009, and as a follow-up to that workshop, a delegation of five Chinese officials, accompanied by the IMO regional coordinators, undertook maritime training needs assessment missions to three African countries. The objective of these missions was to assess, at first hand, the needs of the maritime training institutions in those countries, and to explore areas of mutual/bilateral co-operation and assistance between Chinese training institutions and their African counterparts.
Although IMO has, over the years, provided technical assistance to a number of African countries to assist them in meeting requirements on the implementation of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (STCW Convention), only 17 countries are on the “White List” to date. Even for the countries that are on the White List, a lot of work still needs to be done for the full and effective compliance of the STCW Convention.
As you may be aware IMO, through its ITCP, has placed a lot of emphasis on capacity building through training institutions such as WMU, IMLI and support to regional and national maritime training institutions. However, it has come to IMO’s attention that many of the maritime training institutions in developing countries in Africa, south east Asia, the Pacific and the Central American regions are very ill equipped for the purpose for which they were established, i.e., training of maritime personnel.
To address this deficiency, and bearing in mind that 2010 is the “Year of Seafarer,” IMO has committed an allocation of some $2.5 million to support the training institutions by way of provision of training equipment.
The way ahead
As we have seen from the foregoing, s seafarers continued to make a huge contribution to the global economy and the centre of gravity of the labour market has been shifting from traditional maritime countries in western Europe, Japan and north America to the Far East, Indian sub-continent and eastern Europe. This opens an opportunity for Africa including Nigeria with its numerous resources, to prepare itself to fill the gap. However, Nigeria as well as other African countries should take urgent steps to domesticate the African Maritime Charter and ensure that the Maritime Transport Plan of Action 2009-2012 is equally implemented.
I believe that there is a need for a concerted effort by all of us here, using all available means including the electronic media to project this positive image of shipping as responsible and environmentally conscious industry which provides stimulating and long-term career prospects to young people, while carrying over ninety per cent of world trade.
With a coastline of 853 bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea, a maritime sea area of 46,500 sq.km and exclusive economic zone of 210,900 sq.km, Nigeria is endowed with a highly productive open sea with abundant and diverse maritime resources. I understand that Nigeria has only approximately 2,000 seafarers at present, which is a very small percentage of her population. The training facilities available at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in Oron, and in other institutions should be developed in a holistic manner so that Nigerian seafarers can be trained to take their rightful place in contributing to the global economy.
IMO wholeheartedly endorses, recognizing as it does, that the continued development of a high-quality global manpower resource for the international shipping industry is of paramount importance for its present existence and its preservation in the future.