The Maritime Just Transition Task Force published a new Action Plan COP 27, called “Mapping a Maritime Just Transition for Seafarers”, setting out recommendations to upskill seafarers to meet shipping’s decarbonization goals.
The plan is in response to findings from new research, the modelling of which cautions that as many as 800,000 seafarers will require additional training by the mid-2030s.
The research – conducted by DNV and commissioned by the Maritime Just Transition Task Force Secretariat – assesses three emission reduction scenarios, highlighting an immediate need to start putting the training infrastructure in place, to ensure hundreds of thousands of the world’s nearly two million seafarers are upskilled and empowered through the transition.

Findings also suggest that a lack of certainty on alternative fuel options is having knock-on effects for seafarer training, as the global maritime community works towards a clearer decarbonization pathway in a post-fossil fuel era.
In response to the training challenge that the modelling lays bare, the Action Plan makes recommendations for industry, governments, seafarer unions and academia). These recommendations include:
- Strengthening global training standards;
- Ensuring a health-and-safety-first approach;
- Establishing advisory national maritime skills council.
All three scenarios DNV identified require some form of retraining the workforce. The good news is that seafarers are prepared and willing to be part of this transition. But crew want to know that the fuels they’re handling are indeed safe
said Stephen Cotton, General Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).
10-point Action Plan to Achieve a Just Transition for Seafarers
#1 Global labour standards: Ensure that Just Transition planning, as part of wider decarbonization plans in the maritime industry, is aligned with globally established labor standards under the Maritime Labour Convention, as amended (MLC, 2006), underpinned by social dialogue and stakeholder engagement
#2 Gender and diversity: Champion ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ on board ships as a driver for better performance and risk management in the transition and beyond
#3 Health and safety: Ensure a health and safety-first approach to de-risk shipping’s green transition with fit-for-purpose training and familiarization onboard ships
#4 Establish consensus to unlock training: To unlock the investments needed to equip the maritime workforce with essential skills necessary for a decarbonized shipping industry, urgently establish global consensus on an ambitious decarbonization goal for shipping, that is more explicitly aligned with the 1.5ºC temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. This will provide the certainty needed to stimulate the uptake of alternative fuels and clean energy technologies for shipping.
#5 Support seafarer career pathways: Support seafaring careers both at sea and ashore, by establishing mobility frameworks for seafarers to develop transferable skills over their time on board, preparing them for a career ashore, beyond seafaring.
#6 Address attrition and recruitment: Take active steps to address seafarer attrition, which represents a significant challenge to attract and retain seafarers (including women) for shipping’s green transition.
#7 Investing in skills: Ensure decarbonization plans, including spending and investment, are aligned with the globally established ILO just transition guidelines, taking full account of the maritime industry’s growing need for skills to support its green transition.
#8 Strengthening global training standards: Strengthen global training standards for seafarers, in the ongoing comprehensive review of the IMO STCW Convention and Code, identifying areas for revision. This includes replacing or updating obsolete competencies and knowledge, understanding and proficiency (KUP) in line with shipping’s digitalization evolution and decarbonization trajectory.
#9 Delivering fair training: Deliver equitable training models for all seafarers to keep up with technological advances needed to support the industry’s decarbonization and avoid a widening skills and training gap, which disadvantages seafarers, in particular from developing countries, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
#10 Monitoring skills: Develop national maritime skills councils, as advisory bodies, to complement the STCW training framework, including giving special attention to the additional skills that the maritime workforce will need to handle alternative fuels.