An estimated 23,760 UK seafarers were active at sea in 2017, with overall numbers being broadly stable in recent years, according to recently released figures by UK MCA. In 2017, a total of 88,000 seafarers of all nationalities were estimated to be active at sea working for companies within membership of the UK Chamber of Shipping, and a fifth of these were UK nationals.
Key points
- Just over the half of the total seafarers active at sea were officers (10,600 certificated and 1,500 uncertificated) with a further 1,830 officer cadets in training during 2016-2017.
- There has been a downward overall trend in the number of UK seafarers over the past 15 years, but in recent years the numbers have been stable. In 2017, the estimated total was 3% higher than 2016, largely due to an increase in the number of ratings.
- The majority of UK seafarers active at sea are male (97% of certificated officers, 72% of uncertified officers and 76% of ratings)
- Overall, there were around 39,000 seafarers holding certificates to work on UK vessels issued by the MCA, with 14,480 of these being UK nationals.
Age and Gender profiles of UK seafarers active at sea
- Majority in 2017 were male, particularly officers. Men accounted for an estimated 98% of deck and 99% of engine ratings compared with 56% of the hotel/catering/other grouping.
- Deck and engine ratings tend to be older on average than other seafarers, with over 70% of those aged between 16-62 being over 40, compared with equivalent figures of 42% for hotel/catering/other ratings and 46% of certified active officers.
Seafarers active at sea by nationality
In 2017, an estimated 21% of the seafarers active at sea with CoS member companies were UK nationals, though this proportion was higher for officers than for ratings:
–> About 39% of certified officers were from the UK, with a further 31% from other EEA countries (EU, Norway, Iceland, Leichtenstein)
–> This compares with 16% of ratings from the UK -over 70% of ratings were from outside the EEA with the Philippines followed by India accounting for the largest numbers along individual countries.
Further details may be found herebelow:
