One of the timeless professions has very promising prospects for its enthusiasts. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the number of world seafarers is always increasing every year.
The same thing was conveyed by sailors managed by PT MCS Internasional (MCSI), a subsidiary of PT Humpuss Maritim Internasional (HUMI) who served as captain on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship named Captain Chepy Chairil Anwar.
“‘As many as 80% of world trade commodities are transported by sea. So automatically, the world will need a huge amount of world energy,”‘ said Captain Chepy Chairil Anwar in a podcast interview on the Lighthouse Seafarer Network’s YouTube channel.
Captain Chepy called the high market demand in the commercial shipping segment by sea as an opportunity for anyone who wants to pursue the profession of a sailor.
According to UNCTAD data, the number of professions as a sailor increases by 40 thousand people every year. In 2021, the number of seafarers worldwide is recorded at 1.89 million, which is an increase of 14.8% compared to 2015.
Meanwhile, based on the Country Maritime Profile information released by UNCTAD, the share of Indonesian seafarers to the total number of world seafarers is 5.97% for officers and 8.93% for ratings, or around 51 thousand officers and 92 thousand ratings.
For information, the category officers or officers are sailors who occupy the positions of deck officers, engineer officers, telecommunications personnel, and have competency certificates. Meanwhile, outside of that, he is a sailor with a rating category.
Based on MCSI data, the crew managed until October 2022 totaled 1,651 people, consisting of various types of ships with professions ranging from waiters, cooks, officers, engineers, pilots to skippers.