The Future of Seafarers and the Seafarers of the Future from the Perspective of Human Resources Management

Abstract

The rapid change in technology has begun to influence the maritime sector with the effect of globalization. The impact of technologies is increasing in shipping management; on the other hand, the importance of the human element has also increased. International Maritime Organization has introduced regulations governing the training and social rights of seafarers. MLC 2006 has been an important improvement for the social rights of seafarers. Preventive measures for workplace bullying were started on ships. The safety regulations of STWC Manila 2010 have brought some improvements in the industry. The maritime industry will face some absolute changes brought by Industry 4.0 such as IoT, artificial intelligence, cloud technology and blockchain, although it is unclear yet what sort of changes will occur in manpower labor markets. There are some countries that carry on projects regarding unmanned ships presently. For example, Norway has realized several trial voyages, as well as some other projects, which were carried on by Finland and the EU. In spite of all these changes, seafarers obviously will be needed in the maritime industry. The main purpose of the study is to determine how, from where and how many seafarers will be demanded onboard in the future. Prospects, futurists’ approaches, opinions of sector representatives and research reports are evaluated, and the future of seafarers is discussed in this study.

Citation

Muslu, A. (2020), "The Future of Seafarers and the Seafarers of the Future from the Perspective of Human Resources Management", Turkmenoglu, M.A. and Cicek, B. (Ed.) Contemporary Global Issues in Human Resource Management, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 219-237. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-392-220201016