Issue of recruitment to be discussed at Offshore Marine Event

Challenges in recruiting and retaining experienced seagoing and shore-based personnel will be highlighted at this year’s Seatrade Offshore Marine & Workboats Middle East 2015, which will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from 5-7 October.

 The region’s leading event for the workboat and offshore marine industries, the biennial three-day conference and exhibition will once again address the hot topics and issues facing the industry with people and performance a major consideration for any owner, operator or employer. The scale of the issue is significant.

“The increasingly severe shortage of seafarers and its future impact on the global maritime industry has long been discussed and even back in 2005, the BIMCO / ISF Manpower Update 2005 forecast a shortage of 27,000 maritime officers worldwide by 2015,” said Dr Martin Renilson, Dean, Maritime, Higher Colleges of Technology. 

The dedicated forum session taking place on the afternoon of day 2 of the conference, ‘The Human Element’ will focus on the strategies required to tackle the growing shortage of suitably trained and experienced seagoing personnel available to workboat operators in Gulf waters. The session will also address rising concern about the lack of shore-based marine personnel, which includes well-trained surveyors, within the region.

With more than 90% of global trade dependent on shipping, the worldwide shortage of well-qualified seafarers and, specifically for the Gulf region, the ongoing challenge of deploying the right seagoing personnel for specific projects, is adding to the pressure being put on the industry to address the recruitment challenge.