Shipping faces shortage of 39,100 qualified officers as industry pursues cleaner fuels

Valletta, Malta. International shipping faces a shortage of approximately 39,100 qualified officers, adding to the industry’s challenges as it transitions to cleaner fuels. International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Secretary General Thomas Kazakos called for coordinated action on seafarer recruitment, training and decarbonisation at the Malta Maritime Summit this week.

Call for global cooperation

Kazakos took part in a discussion examining the human impact of shipping’s green transition and the need for international cooperation.

He said decarbonisation requires a common global regulatory approach rather than a collection of national and regional measures, and reaffirmed the industry’s commitment to working with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

The IMO remains the appropriate organisation to develop international rules for an industry whose operations cross national borders, he stressed.

Negotiations on emissions measures

His comments come as governments continue negotiations over the IMO Net-Zero Framework, a proposed set of measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping.

The framework would introduce a global marine fuel standard and an emissions pricing mechanism. Its adoption was postponed in October 2025 to give governments more time to negotiate the proposals.

Further talks took place in September 2026, with another round scheduled for November as countries seek agreement on the industry’s emissions reduction requirements.

Seafarer workforce shortage

The Malta discussion also highlighted the difficulty shipping companies worldwide face in finding enough qualified personnel to operate their vessels.

The BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026 puts the global shortage at approximately 39,100 STCW-certified officers, alongside a surplus of 56,890 ratings.

The report estimates that 2.57 million seafarers work across 85,148 merchant vessels worldwide.