Ocean transportation is one of the world's oldest industries and shows no signs of losing steam or disappearing over the horizon, even in today's technology-driven world More than 90 per cent of the world's commerce travels by sea; trade goods include fuel, raw materials, furniture, food and apparel. 'It is the first global industry,' said Rajaish Bajpaee, president and group managing director of Eurasia Group. The company recently won its second Best Ship Manager in Asia Award at The 5th Lloyd's List Maritime Asia Awards, organised by Lloyd's List, a leading shipping newspaper. Despite its long history and successful background, the shipping industry is looking to change its image in order to attract a young generation of talented people to help sustain its longevity and competitiveness. In decades past, the industry easily attracted adventurous-minded young people who were drawn by the romance of the sea and the prospect of long journeys. Over the years, however, the number of people signing up for posts related to ships and shipping has been steadily dropping. 'There are more land-based jobs being offered with attractive packages, stable hours and clear career paths,' Mr Bajpaee said. The industry is therefore attempting to reverse the situation by creating more congenial conditions for those who would like to work on a ship. Being separated from one's family for long periods is one of the disadvantages of a sea-faring career. 'To ease the problem of separation from family, our company allows a maximum of five families to join the seafarers during their service on the ship,' Mr Bajpaee said. 'This offer is limited to wives and children above one year of age. We also make sure the design of the workplace offers a very liveable environment.' On a ship, there are a few key positions that are always in need of manpower: engineers and captains. Marine engineers are responsible for all aspects of engineering on board, from the ship itself to satellite communications, while the captain is the managing director of the ship. His duties include completing the ship's mission, allocating resources properly, and ensuring the safety of the vessel, the goods being transported and, of course, all on board. Seafarers can either advance their careers through education and experience to become a ship's captain, or they can acquire different skills after their careers on board a ship. 'Some seafarers acquire technical or management skills in order to join shipping companies so they can work in such areas as operations, information technology, maintenance and even route design and planning.' Like players in other major industries these days, shipping companies are outsourcing some of their core functions to specialist companies. These functions include the running and management of ships. 'With outsourcing, shipping companies have no need for a fixed headcount for the sake of cost efficiency and greater flexibility,' Mr Bajpaee said. This, in turn, has created more job opportunities for seafarers. The best ship manager is someone who is genuinely interested in the professional development of its people, Mr Bajpaee said. 'The systems, the tools and the technology can all be replicated. The difference is in our people. We are committed to developing our people.' Mr Bajpaee believes a career built at sea offers many benefits. 'The ocean is a great teacher,' he said. 'It shapes our character, builds endurance, gives us challenges and teaches us perseverance. You also learn to work within a close-knit team, and develop strong interpersonal and team-building skills. The well-trained seafarer is a true survivor. 'We also foresee big changes in the industry in the coming decades. Ships will travel faster and cargo values will rise significantly. All this would mean pressure on people and technologies to advance in order to adapt to the changes.'
