As China's maritime business continues to quickly expand, it has
been identified that around 13,000 new and trained seamen are
required by the industry. To fill the shortfall as quickly as
possible China's Maritime Safety Administration is remodeling the
recruitment standards. ?
China had 130,000 senior sailors out of a total of 500,000
seamen, said Liu Gongchen, executive director general of the
administration. He made his comments yesterday at the 2006 Shenzhen
International Maritime Forum. The theme of the two-day event, which
closes today, was qualified seafarers.
To encourage people to join the industry and qualify as
mariners, the administration has set up a comprehensive education,
training, examination and certification system. Each year more than
10,000 seamen graduate from the country's 76 maritime colleges and
institutions. However, the demand is increasing more quickly than
the supply.
"Every two weeks a new ship is completed and launched," said Li
Zhonghua, an official who works on behalf of seafarers.
Official statistics show that China's port handling capacity was
2.8 billion tons in 2002 but had leapt dramatically to 4.91 billion
tons in 2005. This year port handling capacity is expected to rise
once again by 15 to 20 percent, said Li.
In recognition of the growing demand for sea transportation the
administration invited nearly 300 experts and scholars from home
and abroad to the forum to discuss potential solutions to the
problem.
Already the administration has decided to take a number of
measures this year.
Firstly, college students who major in engineering sciences and
show an interest in the maritime industry will be actively
encouraged to become part of the industry, said Li.
In the past only those who graduated from maritime colleges and
institutions were permitted to take seafaring exams to become
sailors. But now those who majored in engineering can go to sea as
long as they receive further specific maritime training. ?
In a second initiative, young people from rural areas,
especially in western China, will be encouraged to embark on a
career at sea. Traditionally Chinese sailors came from the eastern
part of the country.
"On a sailor's income a family can be raised,” said Li. “For the
poorer western areas it's a good opportunity to improve living
standards," said Li.
To protect those going to sea, a regulation is expected this
year which will clarify the requirements to become fully qualified
seaman and detail their rights.
Newly trained sailors were firstly required to meet domestic
demands but there could well be opportunities for them to work in
other countries, according to Liu Gongchen.
It's been estimated that around 40,000 Chinese sailors are
working on foreign vessels. This figure is small in comparison to
the Philippines which has 250,000 sailors on board vessels from
flying foreign flags. China actually has huge potential to 'export'
trained and experienced seaman around the world. ?
However, Egthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the
International Maritime Organization, pointed out that Chinese
seafarers seeking employment opportunities abroad should remember
the importance of the English language in the maritime industry. He
pointed out that training in the language was important. ?
"An inability to communicate properly will undermine even the
best qualified seaman,” he said.
Since 2002 the forum has been held on four occasions. The
administration has decided that Shanghai and Shenzhen should now
host the event year about. ?
China has been a Category A member of the International Maritime
Organization for nine years.
(China Daily April 20, 2006)