The Supply Chain Management of Maritime Labour and the Role of Manning Agents: Implications and Research Directions

Ahmed Ruhullah

Australian Maritime College, Department of Maritime Business

Ahmed Ruhullah

Abstract

The maritime labour market has gone through tumultuous changes in the last fifty years. The advent of the FOC system in the post WW II era has precipitated in large scale internationalisation of the maritime labour market. The developing economies have successfully integrated in the global maritime labour supply chain as principal suppliers of maritime manpower. At the same time many developed and traditional maritime nations, while consolidating ownership and management interests in shipping, are confronted with the challenge of a shrinking maritime labour pool. In this context the management of the maritime labour supply chain has become a matter of crucial importance. The traditional focus on this issue is essentially macro in nature and is almost exclusively focussed on managing the supply by enhancing the recruitment of nationals. This approach is inappropriate given the nature of the supply and demand of maritime manpower. A more rational approach would be to concentrate on recruitment and retention at the micro level, with the ship operators taking the lead in determining the demand and planning supply. For this the role of the manning agents in developing countries need to be revisited. The paper argues for a new planning model for managing the supply chian of maritime labour. This planning model brings the ship operators, the manning agents and the seafarers in one loop in order to determine the most appropriate strategies for the promotion of optimum recruitment and retention. This framework recognises that the manning agent is an essential part of the ship management team. More importantly, this framework stresses on the human side of seafarers by acknowledging that an effective supply chain management of seafaring labour would not be possible without understanding the need of the seafarers from social, economic and cultural perspectives. This radical shift in supply chain thinking would require streamlining many contentious issues related with the governance structure of the current seafarers supply chain, the role of manning agents, the seafarers perceptions of job and profession and the factors which influence these perceptions. The paper argues for increased research on these issues in order to manage the emerging problem of supply chain management of maritime labour.