Employee Benefits: Is your company competitive?

Spinnaker know that it’s not just competitive salaries and bonuses that attract and retain staff, employee benefits also play a vital part.

The Maritime HR Association is in a unique position to be able to survey over 100 maritime companies consisting of shipowners, shipmanagers, trading houses and oil majors, about their additional employee benefits and pay reviews.

Earlier this year the association released a report covering leave benefits which included maternity, paternity, compassionate and sick leave. To complete the benefits information for members, last week the association released a report on staff benefits and policies which covered pensions, life insurance, private medical, permanent health insurance, and wellbeing initiatives.

The report summarised data by location and then by benefit. Enough data was received to produce detailed information for the following locations:

  • Australia;

  • Canada;

  • China;

  • Denmark;

  • Germany;

  • Hong Kong;

  • India;

  • Norway;

  • Philippines;

  • Singapore;

  • The UAE;

  • United Kingdom; and

  • United States of America.

These reports can also highlight any new trends in the industry. For example, since the COVID pandemic we have seen an increase in wellbeing initiatives, flexible working, and Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP’s) in the industry as staff mental and physical wellbeing has jumped to the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Lucy McQuillan, Spinnaker’s HRC Manager says “Information exchanges are such a vital part of the Maritime HR Association, second to the annual salary survey. It’s imperative that our members have access to accurate market comparisons on salaries and bonuses but also on benefits to ensure our members remain competitive.”

To join over 100 maritime companies and become a member of the Maritime HR Association contact: [email protected] for further information.

What is Shore-based Crewing? Do I know?

Crewing Abbreviations

AB – Able Seamen
BOSUN – Boatswain
Btmn – Boatman
A/H – Anchor Handling
C – Captain
Cf M – Chief Mate
CTO – Crew Training Officer
DH – Deck Hand
J Eng – Junior Engineer
Mstr – Master
OS – Ordinary Seaman
Sig – Signalman
Sman – Seaman
QM – Quarter Master
RO – Radio Officer
STCW – Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping
Off – Officer

App – Apprentice
5 Off – 5th Officer
5 Eng – 5th Engineer
4 Off – 4th Officer
4 Eng – 4th Engineer
3 M – 3rd Mate
3 Eng – 3rd Engineer
2 M – 2nd Mate
2 Eng – 2nd Engineer

What does Crewing involve?

Shore-based crewing staff are responsible for organising the working lives of seafarers. It is the shore-based people that are the connectors to the people at sea. Crewing departments are found within shipowning and ship management companies. There are also specialist crewing agencies who provide staff to shipowners and ship managers.

Due to high demand and tight supply of seafarers (who specialise in specific vessel types), there has been an increased focus in recent years on the retention, training and development of seafarers.

Recruitment – You will be involved in ensuring that vessels are adequately staffed with qualified and competent crew members and in the sourcing, selection, interviewing, and hiring of personnel with the correct qualifications, vessel experience and correct rank while also adhering to regulations and employment laws.

Retention – Retaining staff is very important. It is important to be able to retain your staff by ensuring safety, offering competitive salaries, providing career path opportunities, good training and promoting a positive work environment as well as addressing concerns.

Scheduling – You will be involved in the scheduling, rostering, and managing the deployment of crew members to different vessels or assignments. You will work closely with other departments to keep up to date with new hires as well as ensure efficient crew operations and optimise resource utilisation.

Training and Development – The role is to prepare, educate and develop the skills of crew members to ensure they can perform their duties effectively and safely. You will keep training programmes up to date and, if you are actually a trainer as opposed to a generalist crewing person, you will deliver sessions and workshops along with demonstrations and simulations. Making sure crew members are up to date with safety training, protocols, risk strategies and more.

Opportunities – This involves performance monitoring to ensure you can identify potential and provide opportunities to crew members to advance their careers, develop new skills and take on new responsibilities within the organisation to promote a supportive and engaging work environment that motivates top talent.

Welfare – This involves providing a safe environment including the well-being, welfare, and overall quality of life of crew members. This means addressing the physical, mental, and emotional needs of the crew, promoting support services to address personal and social needs, promoting health and wellness services and ensuring there are leisure activities for the crew members. Crucially nowadays, it also means making sure crew members have internet access so they can keep in touch with family and friends.

Travel & Immobilisation – Coordinating and managing all aspects of travel arrangements for crew members to and from vessels.

Job Titles Involved in Crewing Departments

In order of Seniority

  • Head of Crewing/Crewing Director/Fleet Personnel Director
  • Fleet Personnel Manager/Regional Crewing Manager/Senior Manning Manager
  • Learning and Development Manager – Senior Crew Training Manager
  • Senior Executive Crewing/Deputy Manning Manager/Assistant Crewing Manager
  • Assistant Training Manager/Senior Learning and Development Officer/Performance Management Supervisor
  • Team Leader
  • Crewing Officer/Manning Officer/ Payroll Officer/Marine Personnel Executive
  • Crew Training Officer/Performance Executive
  • Crewing Assistant/Fleet Personnel Administrator/Learning and Development Coordinator

Mealtimes With My Maritime Friends

Mealtimes With My Maritime Friends is a book which creatively combines culture and cuisine to bring insights into the lives and worlds of 60 leading lights from across the international maritime industry – and across the globe – in support of a mix of inspiring causes.

The book offers readers an immersive experience, blending step-by-step instructions, engaging illustrations, and culinary and cultural insights in an accessible, warm, and visually appealing way.

The project is the brainchild of Riviera Maritime Media’s Executive Editor Edwin Lampert who through his registered charity The Brun Bear Foundation – has done much to support The OSCAR Campaign and other maritime, community, medical, and animal welfare projects.

Mealtimes With My Maritime Friends’ ethos perfectly encapsulates the charity’s ethos: to use the power of community to create better futures. In this case, the founder of the charity, Edwin is drawing on his friends in the maritime community, to create better futures inside and outside the maritime community.

As we approach the final stages of production, Edwin wanted to share with you the opportunities available to show your support for the project and the causes it will benefit.

The Brun Bear Foundation is inviting its supporters to become official supporters of the recipe book.

To place your order please click here

By becoming an official supporter, you not only gain visibility within the maritime community but also contribute to the Brun Bear Foundation’s mission of creating better futures through the power of community. The foundation has already donated thousands of pounds to various local, medical, and animal welfare charities, and your support will help us continue this important work as well as a new award programme we are sponsoring focused on marine life conservation.

In addition to these support packages, we are also actively seeking to engage relevant companies within the maritime industry, such as marine catering companies, food suppliers, and other businesses that share our passion for culture, cuisine, and community. If you know of any companies that might be interested in supporting this project, please let me know, and I will be happy to reach out to them.

Thank you once again for your valued contribution and ongoing support. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of many through this project.