Recession In Shipping, Is Seafarer Affected?
The recession started in USA in 2008, quickly caught the markets of Europe. Since more than half of the world caught in recession, the shipping industry could not get escape.
The nature of shipping business is more dependent on prediction as the ship building takes time. More number of ships ordered from yard during the boom is now adding to the fire of recession in the shipping industry.
The supply of ships now is too high. The boom in commodities prices earlier to financial crisis gave rise to demand of new ships from yard. These new ships, being delivered now are adding to over-supply of ships. This is resulting in very low fright rates.
The Baltic index for dry bulk is all time low. The dry bulk owners are running their ships at loss. Only cash rich owners are able to sustain the loss hoping that the market will recover. The end of tunnel is still not visible.
The seafarers, sailing on dry bulkers will get affected as more ships are getting layed. Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong ports can be seen with increasing number of layed up vessels.
Adversity always has the opportunities and this is true for shipping as well for all the stake holders like owners, ships managers and seafarers. Seafarers can make use of this time for upgrading their skills, certification and specialisation. Specialisation in dangerous cargo can be taken up by those who are in dry bulk sector. This will give better edge to their career in future.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information and guidance only, and some of the information may now be out of date. Any information about rules and regulations (for example from the IMO, ILO, flag states, DG Shipping/DGMA or other maritime authorities) should be checked on the official website of the authority concerned for its current applicability before making any decision. CrewMirror and its owners and operators will not be responsible for any loss or damage caused by the use of information published on CrewMirror pages and posts.
