THE NEED OF SEAFARERS WITHIN FINNISH SHIPPING COMPANIES AND THE NATIONAL MARITIME ADMINISTRATION 1999-2010

The objective of this study is to analyse the need of seafarers and the number of them within Finnish shipping companies and the National Administration in Finland in the period 1999-2010. The analysis was done separately among deck and engineer officers on the one hand and crew on the other. The crew here stands for deck hands and students who are studying to these tasks. The number of pensions was used as loss data on ships in the Finnish shipping companies and National Maritime Administration vessels together with the onshore organisations of both. In addition to this, knowledge of pensioned-off personnel was obtained from other organisations hiring navigators with emphasis on jobs in which a degree in navigation is vital for coping with the tasks. Other loss which here covers deaths, disability pensions, and change of branch by the employees was not researched in detail. The added needs of a work force and the development perspective of the trade were examined through interviews with representatives for shipping companies and The National Maritime Administration. Unemployed job seeking seafarers and students graduating from colleges of navigation during the time period for the research were counted as work force reserve. Also the supply of work placements for students in the vessels of Finnish shipping companies and The National Maritime Administration was researched together with the demand for them at colleges of navigation. The students' future plans and the factors affecting their choice of maritime careers were charted using a questionnaire.