Vast orderbooks of ships, including cruise vessels, are fuelling the demand for seafarers, while the supply struggles to keep up. This means that not just recruitment but retention of people is increasingly important and challenging. At the same time, younger people’s expectations of what a career at sea should mean differ significantly from those of older generations.
By Kari Reinikainen
In the cruise industry, orderbooks for new tonnage have recovered from the pandemic more quickly than expected. Tens of thousands more seafarers will be needed to staff the new ships.
According to Clarkson Research, at the start of 2025, the orderbook for all types of sea-going ships stood at some 2,300 units, with a total value of about $2 trillion; both figures were at a 17-year high. It is not just the cruise industry that needs to recruit more crewmembers – the entire shipping industry is facing a severe labour shortage, and the problem is set to worsen in the coming decade.
In 2023, Drewry, an international shipping consultancy firm, already reported that the shortage of officers was at a 17-year high. It forecast that the situation would remain challenging for the next five years.
Yuliia Vasylieva, founder of the Ukrainian crewing agency DAKS and training centre TKS Avant, pointed out that in 2025 alone, 15 new cruise ships would enter service, requiring the recruitment of more than 20,000 crewmembers. “According to an analyst’s forecast, by 2035 cruise operators will need another 75,000 professionals,” she said. “Such expansion inevitably intensifies competition for qualified personnel and, as a result, drives wage growth. Salaries have already increased by 5 to 15 per cent depending on ranks, and this trend continues to strengthen. In the coming years, competition for skilled crew will continue to grow. Shipowners will have to offer not only higher base salaries but also improved contract terms, including optimised rotation schedules, shorter voyages, and additional incentives. We already see seafarers comparing offers more actively and expecting parity across all levels.”
And it is getting tougher all the time. The shipping sector has key issues to address in crew recruitment and retention.
Generation issue
Danica Crewing Specialists, a Hamburg-based crewing agency, surveyed 65,000 seafarers and found that 82% of them would change employer if offered a higher salary, while 99% had looked at other job opportunities during their holidays. The number of seafarers who had worked for the same company for 48 months or more fell by 24% from 2023 to 2024.
While remuneration is the key factor, there is more to the issue. Today’s generation of would-be seafarers tend to have a rather different emphasis when choosing a career. Connectivity, for example, features heavily in their employment decision-making. “This new internet generation, who is about to enter working life now, is used to being in touch with family and friends. At sea, the possibility to keep in touch with them is both a blessing and a curse,” said Ulla Pirita Tapaninen, tenured full professor of maritime transport at the Estonian Maritime Academy.
On the one hand, the possibility to keep in touch with people on land helps seafarers, as they are able to have a chat or read a bedtime story for their children. “On the other hand, problems at home come to the surface easier than in the past, and the pain from the fact that a seafarer cannot be at home to offer help places them under stress more than before,” said Tapaninen. In any case, connectivity is a must if a maritime employer hopes to retain crew for any significant length of time.
“The industry has come a long way in how it treats seafarers since I joined it over 40 years ago,” said Mike Deegan, secretary of Maritime Skills Alliance in the UK. Generation Z expects good internet connectivity while at sea, and operators strive to provide it to keep their crews happy and engaged. But this is not limited to the time they are at sea. “Ports, too, provide connectivity for seafarers. I was in Liverpool recently and was delighted to see signage in the terminal directing crew members to an area where they could access internet via free Wi-Fi,” said Deegan.
There is another aspect of connectivity in relation to crew retention: communication. “I often ask stakeholders in my current role as secretary of the Maritime Skills Alliance about whether we communicate effectively with younger generations,” Deegan said. “I was much taken some years ago with a presentation by an oil major about their discovery that detailed safety reports into accidents, near-misses, and incidents were read by younger generations, but that far more effective, in their case, was the development of shorter, nine- or ten-minute animated visual presentations which were streamed via company TikTok or other platforms.”
Deegan called this a “road to Damascus” moment for him and concluded that the industry needs to communicate differently with different generations to ensure effective engagement with the entire workforce. “I realised we ignored different methods of communicating with different cohorts at our peril,” he said.
There is also a big difference between Generation Z and older generations when it comes to expectations about work, according to Henrik Jensen, CEO of Danica Crewing Specialists. “For the older generations, shipping is in their DNA. They seek stability in their lives and therefore value long-term employment,” he told CruiseTimes. This also means that they are not willing to change careers, as they do not like the risks involved.
For the older generations, it is important that they are paid market salaries, that working conditions meet their expectations, that the employer gives them comprehensive health insurance, and so on.
Youthful issue
Younger people, in many ways, take an opposite view to the older generations on work. They are generally open to trying new things. In its survey, Danica discovered that Generation Z did not view a career at sea as a lifelong choice; instead, they saw life as too short for such a commitment and preferred to experience various careers. Here lies an initial challenge to recruitment.
In this respect, cruise lines are in a better position than shipping in general, because cruise ships have large hotel crews, positions that are mainly occupied by younger people. In freight shipping, long sea voyages – often with fewer than 20 people on board – can be challenging for younger crewmembers, for whom social life and recreation while at sea are more important.
All this has implications for the shipping industry as a whole, Jensen said. If crewmembers stay on board a given ship or with a shipping company for only short periods, they do not accrue in-depth knowledge of the vessel and the organisation.
Another challenge relates to training, which is necessary and expensive. An investment that a company makes in the skills and knowledge of younger seafarers will often have to be seen against a shorter payback time than with older generations, who could stay with the same company until retirement, according to Jensen.
Given the tight labour market, it is hardly surprising that some companies may want to promote young officers quickly. But this may not be a desirable approach, because their authority can be undermined by their youth and relative inexperience.
Speaking at a seminar a few years ago, an engineering officer working on a large Danish cruise ferry said that if a young officer, who lacked the practical knowledge of the equipment and systems on board, was promoted too early and became a superior to someone with several years’ experience and in-depth knowledge of the vessel’s machinery, this would undermine the officer’s authority and have a negative impact on the atmosphere on the ship.
Welfare issue
The perceived longer working time is another deterrent for seafarer recruitment. It is vital for safety and crew welfare that hours of work are regulated, ensuring adequate rest. This aspect of crew management is covered under the Maritime Labour Convention, and all reputable operators comply fully with this requirement, which is regularly inspected under port state control measures.
Crew recreation facilities are important and are easier to provide in larger cruise vessels, where there is more space. Smaller-vessel operators are encouraged to ensure adequate facilities or shorter contracts. “In my last role before joining the Maritime Skills Alliance, I managed fleet operations and regulatory compliance for a company that operated smaller, expedition-style sea-going and river cruise vessels,” said Deegan. “Here it is harder to incorporate extensive crew recreational facilities. So we would arrange for crew day-outs and tours where duties allowed, shorter contracts, or other crew welfare enhancing facilities such as gyms or grants towards crew welfare requirements.” Deegan added that crew could take their meals in passenger outlets before they were opened to guests, which enhanced the level of comfort.
Typical cruise contracts last about six months, offering predictable schedules. In commercial shipping, contract durations are gradually shortening but still often reach seven to nine months. For many Ukrainian seafarers – there are about 150,000 of them in active service – time away from home is a decisive factor, and cruise contracts offer a more balanced rhythm.
In terms of pay, vessels like gas carriers offer masters $10,000 to $14,000 per month, which is more than what cruise ships offer. “But cruise lines compensate for this with stability, benefits, and onboard amenities. Including tips and bonuses, many service-department crewmembers achieve incomes comparable to shore-based hospitality positions,” Vasylieva said.
Cruise ships also offer a higher level of onboard comfort, including modern cabins, gyms, crew lounges, Wi-Fi, and cultural activities. “For younger crewmembers, this social environment and quality of life matter,” said Vasylieva.
In its 2024/25 Cadet Report, covering 9,000 cadets from various parts of the world, the Sailors Society found that 68% of respondents considered good treatment of seafarers as the number one criterion for choosing a company to work for. Pay came second, at 29%; and access to the internet came third, at just 3%.
Populations in the western world are ageing. This means a tightening supply of workforce for all sectors. In many countries in Asia and Africa, the situation is the opposite, and shipping, as a global business, will probably have to rely increasingly on labour supplies from these regions. But good treatment of seafarers will remain on the agenda even then.
Inclusive issue
Diversity in maritime employment is another area where progress could and should be made. Huge strides have already been taken. “I have often said that, today, the fact that a deck officer or a chief engineer who just happens to be female is no longer newsworthy. We can be assured that our work in this field is done,” said Deegan.
This, however, is not to say that the issue is not continuously being addressed. Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) is working hard worldwide to attract women into maritime management positions. Many shore-side management positions are filled by former seafarers. So if the industry fails to attract and retain women in seafaring roles in the first place, it becomes harder to fill management positions later on.
“Whilst I have often been critical of our industry for not removing blockers for women at sea, I was very encouraged recently when I attended a marine engineering apprenticeship event organised by the Thames Training Academy in London,” Deegan said. “Almost half of the young people attending – most with their parents – were female. One young marine engineer apprentice spoke in glowing terms about her sponsoring company, who, she said, treated her and all trainees with dignity and respect. She had never encountered overt sexism at work, and the older engineers in the river vessels where she was training had been fulsome with their time to train her and oversee her development as a fully qualified engineer.”
Another operator represented at that event was proud of its multicultural, inclusive, and diverse workforce. This included those serving on its extensive fleet of vessels. “Surely these should be our template, and, if it is, then maybe we have turned a corner,” said Deegan. “Maybe, just maybe, the green shoots of real inclusion and diversity are alive and well amongst our younger colleagues. I said at the time that if the young people I met at that event in London represented the future of our industry, then that future would be very exciting indeed.”
Despite the progress, much more needs to be done. In the Cadet Report, the Sailors Society stated: “Women play a vital role in the industry, bringing unique perspectives and skills that drive innovation and progress. However, many continue to face challenges in what is a male-dominated world and despite progress, perceived barriers and discrimination continue to create barriers that hinder their full participation and advancement.”
Recognition of the issues is only the first step on a long road to addressing them. Gender discrimination, whether overt or subtle, alongside challenges like inadequate infrastructure to support women on board could hinder their progress. “To address these issues, fostering an inclusive culture, implementing policies promoting equal opportunities, and highlighting the success stories of women in the industry are vital. Breaking these barriers will not only empower women but also strengthen the maritime sector as a whole,” the report stated.
Payroll issue
On top of all this, cruise lines must still face the reality of galloping crew payroll expenses.
Payroll expenses of the three largest cruise shipping groups – Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL), Royal Caribbean Group (RCG), and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) – amounted to $5.1 billion in 2024, an increase of about 51% from a decade earlier. This is forecast to continue to increase, and to climb towards $8 billion in 2030, depending mostly on capacity growth. Increasing investment in land-based private island developments is also likely to contribute to the anticipated rise.
Source: CCL, RCG, NCLH, and CruiseTimes Research
Source: CCL, RCG, and NCLH
Payroll and related costs in 2024 ranged from 11.5% of CCL’s cruise operating expenses to 23.6% of NCLH’s, while the figure for RCG was 15%. These figures are slightly below those seen in the years before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Increase in capacity days, expected to reach 256–267 million in 2030, compared to 170 million in 2024 and 129 million in 2015, will mean that the cruise industry continues to have a large recruitment need for the next few years.
Source: CCL, RCG, NCLH, and CruiseTimes Research
It should be noted that cargo and offshore service shipping sectors are volatile, unlike the cruise industry, and their need of seafarers will fluctuate according to their business cycles. However, as far as the cruise industry is concerned, there is a strong positive correlation between the development of capacity days and payroll expenses.
Source: CCL, RCG, NCLH, and CruiseTimes Research
Current trends suggest that the overall crew payroll cost will rise further in the years ahead. Several other factors are contributing to this, including the diminishing pay differentiation. “The industry is gradually abandoning nationality-based pay differentiation: Ukrainian crewmembers now receive compensation on par with their Western European and US counterparts,” said Vasylieva. “This is a direct consequence of three converging factors: record orderbooks, crew shortages, and a labour market that has clearly shifted in favour of seafarers.” In the next two to three years, she added, wages would rise by at least 15–20%.
Per Bjornsen, managing director of V.Ships Leisure, concurs with this assessment. “Over the past few years, seafarer wages have risen more sharply than we would normally expect,” he said. “This has been particularly evident since Covid-19, when the market became more fluid and competition for crew intensified. Looking ahead, we anticipate further upward pressure on wages over the next five years, especially in technical positions and in certain hotel operational roles, such as in the galley.”
Addressing issues
Shipping companies have started to widen the range of countries from which to recruit. But this does not offer a quick solution, because building talent pipelines in new markets requires time and investment in local education and training to ensure that new recruits gain the skills necessary to operate increasingly advanced vessels.
Unless all the aforementioned issues are addressed – and urgently – the maritime sector will continue to face acute skill and labour shortages. This is particularly pertinent to the cruise industry, where expansion is rapid, the need for labour force is pressing, the skill-set requirement is vast, and the urgency for recruitment and retention is greater.
