Where Have All Those Workers Gone?

Labor Shortage in Shipping and Shipbuilding Industries Following Taxi Sector
Poor Wages and Conditions Compared to Work Intensity

#Mr. A, a man in his 40s who has been working as a first-class engineer for 13 years at a major domestic shipping company, recently gave up on promotion to chief engineer and is preparing for a career change. Returning after a year off following a voyage, Mr. A said, "I no longer see any meaning in wandering the vast ocean without even seeing my family's faces."

#Mr. B, head of the maritime HR team at a mid-sized shipping company, has been struggling to coordinate replacement personnel after a third-year navigator recently quit. Mr. B sighed, "I thought they would complete the mandatory three-year sailing period no matter how tough it was, but they submitted a resignation letter saying they would be replaced by a social service agent. Sailing is hard work, but back in our day, quitting halfway was unthinkable."

This is the current state of domestic shipping companies suffering from labor shortages. Despite experiencing a boom with record-high performance this year, the shortage of maritime personnel is worsening. The difficulty in recruiting new personnel is due to a societal shift in perception that avoids hard labor, and wages and working conditions relative to labor intensity remain similar to those from ten years ago during a recession. ▷Related article on page 3

According to the shipping industry on the 13th, HMM conducted recruitment for new third-class navigators earlier this month but failed to fill all planned positions.

The reason for the worsening labor shortage in the industry is that, under the government’s ‘Shipping Reconstruction 2030’ policy, the demand for seafarers has increased along with the number of vessels, but the supply of personnel has not kept pace. Additionally, the working environment has worsened due to the impact of COVID-19, causing severe attrition among existing workers, creating a double burden.

According to the Korea Seafarers’ Welfare Center, as of the end of last year, the total number of domestic maritime workers, including navigators, engineers, and crew members, was 33,565, a 3.4% decrease compared to 34,751 in 2018. In particular, the reserve personnel for third-class navigators decreased by 9.1 percentage points from 19.3% to 10.2% during the same period.

The labor shortage phenomenon is not limited to the shipping industry. The small and medium-sized enterprises sector and taxi industry, which have long complained of chronic job shortages, as well as the large shipbuilding industry recently, have experienced intensified mismatches. This is due to accelerated attrition of existing workers in industries with poor working conditions and a societal shift in the perception of the value of labor.

Professor Bang Gwang-hyun of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Korea Maritime University said, "With the rapid expansion of asset markets this year, a change in labor consciousness has emerged in the shipping industry, especially among younger generations, who tend to avoid difficult work. There is an urgent need for practical improvements in treatment, such as wage increases relative to labor for seafarers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.