Shortage of seafarers alarms training body

A decade-long halt to the training of seafaring recruits could rebound on the New Zealand economy. PAULA OLIVER reports.

After 10 years of upheaval in the seafaring industry, New Zealand is in danger of not having enough maritime workers to succeed as a trading nation, the leader of the country's only dedicated training organisation says.

Tim Wilson, director of the Manukau Institute of Technology's New Zealand Maritime School, says the effect of 10 years of financial pressure in the seafaring industry and a halt to training of new recruits could be about to rebound harshly on the country's economy.

"Other countries cut [training] back gradually, but for 10 years we produced nobody," Mr Wilson said. "This is our interface to succeed as a trading nation, and we don't have enough people to cover it."

Graduate seafarers can start on as much as $70,000 a year, spending seven or eight months at sea.

With the salary comes responsibility, and some are left in sole charge of millions of dollars' worth of cargo ship and freight for eight hours a day.

Opportunities also exist for work on passenger ships, including cruise liners.

Despite these attractions, the NZ Maritime School takes only between 20 and 25 recruits a year.

Seafarers generally become port workers later in their careers, and Mr Wilson estimated that 78 per cent of NZ port staff were now more than 54 years old.

That meant the present shortage of workers at our trading hub will worsen in five years, as many dock staff reach retirement age.

Mr Wilson said about 800 people crewed New Zealand's ports, and up to 2500 Kiwis worked on ships throughout the world.

Warning signs of a future shortage of skilled seafarers emerged six or seven years ago, Mr Wilson said.

The training of maritime workers was costly because simulators were needed, and a cadet had to spend at least 12 months at sea to graduate.

Mr Wilson said training cost his organisation around $45,000 a head for three years, during which cadets learned navigation skills, fire fighting, management and sea survival.

Danish shipping line Maersk Sealand supports the training of eight cadets through the training school, and takes them on a six-month voyage so they can gain experience.

But it was not always easy to get shipping companies to agree to take cadets, Mr Wilson said.

"When they're on board they eat meals and cost money," he said.

"My concern is that unless the Government helps us with some kind of support in this area, the companies could baulk at putting our people on board."

Mr Wilson said it was common in other countries for governments to subsidise practical training.

This week, Scott Allen and Lars Sorenson, the first two New Zealand-trained cadets to take a six-month voyage with Maersk Sealand, returned to Auckland.

They will take further training before graduating with the skills needed to command a ship.