European Seafarer Statistics 2022: Certificates, Endorsements, and Trends

The European Maritime Safety Agency has released the Seafarer Statistics in the EU report for the year 2022. The report is based on data extracted from certificates and endorsements registered by EU Member States, Iceland, and Norway until December 31, 2022. The data represents the number of seafarers holding valid certificates and endorsements, reflecting the European labor market in terms of the potential manpower available to serve on board vessels.

By the end of 2022, 171,539 masters and officers held valid certificates of competency issued by EU Member States, while another 116,990 masters and officers held original certificates issued by non-EU countries with endorsements from EU Member States. The top countries issuing certificates were Poland, Norway, Greece, Croatia, and Romania among EU Member States, and Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, Norway, and Denmark for endorsements. Trends show an increase in the number of seafarers until 2019, with stability interrupted in 2020 due to Brexit and since 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite disruptions, the European maritime labor market has shown resilience, maintaining stability in the distribution by country, department, capacity, gender, and age. In 2022, there was an indication of new entrants acquiring certification, with a majority of masters and officers in the Deck Department compared to the Engine Department. Gender data showed 2.51% female and 97.49% male masters and officers, with an average age of 43.6 years for valid CoC holders.

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