- Nearly 300,000 Certified Masters and Officers Available in 2023.
- Norway Leads EU in Issuing Certificates of Competency.
- Philippines Tops Non-EU Countries with Recognised Seafarers.
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has released the Seafarer Statistics in the EU report, which presents a detailed report of trends and developments in seafarers in 2023. The lengthy review uses the number of persons holding valid certificates and endorsements to present a picture of the European seafarer’s labour market, reports Sagety4Sea.
Data Sources and Scope
The statistical results are derived from certificate and endorsement data entered by EU Member States, Iceland, and Norway. These data, contained in the STCW Information System (STCW-IS), were retrieved up to 31 December 2023 and uploaded to the system by the end of 2024. This data represents the active maritime labour force in 2023, emphasising those certified to work on EU-flagged ships.
Certification Overview
By the close of 2023, 172,308 masters and officers had valid Certificates of Competency (CoCs) from EU Member States. Another 125,519 had original CoCs from non-EU states, with their qualifications formally recognised through endorsements (EaRs) by EU Member States. Combined, these numbers reflect that nearly 300,000 masters and officers were ready to serve on board ships registered in the EU.
Top Countries in Certification and Recognition
Within EU Member States, Norway had the most CoCs issued in 2023, followed by Poland, Croatia, Italy and Romania. In terms of endorsements verifying recognition of non-EU qualifications, Malta was at the top, followed by Cyprus, Portugal, Norway and Denmark. Within non-EU countries, the Philippines, Ukraine, the Russian Federation, India and Türkiye were the top five countries whose officers saw their certifications recognised by EU Member States.
Trends during the Past Decade
Examining the overall trend between 2014 and 2023, there was a definite spike in the number of certified seafarers between 2016 and 2019. This was interrupted between 2020 and 2022 by significant external factors like Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, there was a slight upward trend, though the overall breakdown of seafarers was relatively stable in terms of nationality, rank, department, age and gender.
Labour Market Stability
Following a decade of consistent monitoring, the EU maritime labour market has shown incredible resilience and stability. The statistics indicate that the industry has been able to cope with and attract new entrants to compensate for the ones leaving the field. In 2023 alone, over 5,000 officers successfully obtained their Certificate of Competency for the first time in the EU, supporting the notion of a constant supply of talent into the market.
Demographic and Gender Observations
Demographically, the report notes an even distribution by geographic location and age. Women remain in the minority, and the majority hold CoCs from EU nations that qualify them to work on deck. Although the number of women officers is slowly on the rise, it is still doubtful that the world percentage will reach more than 2 per cent of the total number of certified officers who can serve on EU-flagged ships in the near term.
Department Distribution
The spread of certified officers between departments reflects an evident dominance of those deployed in the deck department. The figure of officers qualifying to serve under Chapter II of the STCW Convention, dealing with deck duties, was 51 per cent greater than those certified for engine duties under Chapter III. Fewer officers were placed under Chapter VII, covering those with alternative or multipurpose certification.
Age and Gender Breakdown
Gender data were provided for about 93 per cent of the officers who held CoCs, a total of 160,973 persons. They included 2.78 per cent females and 97.22 per cent males, with a confidence level of 99 per cent and ±0.08 per cent margin of error. Certified officers’ average age was 43.6 years. The under-25 group had 5,641 officers, and the rest of the age groups were evenly distributed, each having between 9 and 14 per cent of the population.
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Source: Safety4Sea
