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When Seafarers Come Ashore

Wed Jun 19, 2013 6:34 am (PDT) . Posted by:

"SekharGC" captsekh

While a minority of seafarers may spend their whole working lives at sea,

for most of them, their sea career will be a temporary period which, for 

officers will probably range from 7-15 years. However, the maritime

industry does offer opportunities for sea trained and qualified officers in

a whole range of activities in which their professional qualifications will

be relevant and useful. It is thus sensible for seafarers, during their 

time in seagoing employment, to keep abreast of these opportunities as a

potential route for their own career to take when they wish to come ashore.

“The seafarer ashore is a valuable employee, educated in a demanding school

and accustomed to self-discipline and hard work. He (or she) is mature,

does not watch the clock, and possesses drive and initiative. Employers

would be wise to seek him (or her) out”. Dr  Ronald Hope, Director of the

Marine Society in the UK penned these words some years ago, and this

organisation has always offered sympathetic and practical career advice to

seafarers, notably on the educational “extras” seafarers will need in order  

to make themselves more attractive to shore-side employment.

The job of a ship’s officer is that of a specialist; increasingly so with  

the development of specialist ships and sectors within the industry and

while statutory qualifications may be a useful measure of professional

attainment, it is likely that a seafarer wishing to come ashore will need

to be able to demonstrate other qualities, which will make him or her standout among the other candidates for shore side careers.

The choice is a wide one but can be simplified into those careers in which

seafaring professional qualifications are essential – pilotage,

superintendency, ship management – and those where they will be useful but

will only be a “first step” towards other specialities, such as ship 

broking, forwarding and logistics, casualty work of various kinds,

insurance and adjusting.

The forward-thinking seafarer will be constantly looking around the

industry and may well come across former seafarers in a whole range of potentially interesting jobs. They will meet cargo surveyors, harbour 

masters, superintendents and ship managers, stevedores and pilots,

surveyors from maritime authorities and classification societies and many

other people who are carving out interesting careers after some time at

sea. Most people are more than happy to talk about their jobs and the sort

of qualities, skills and experience that they need to accomplish them.

While the seagoing professionals may be preoccupied with the need to obtain

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their statutory qualifications, it is well worth looking around other 

useful qualifications that might be recommended and made available by a

variety of interests, which range from the professional institutions and

organisations such as BIMCO, to commercial educators. Continuing

Professional Development will be well worth exploring.

*Links to look at*: www.bimco.org, www.nautinst. org <http:>

Www.Bimco.org