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Incentive schemes on offer for top seafarers
With the supply of quality seafarers increasingly strained, the retention of this valuable resource is increasingly important.
The buzzword now is incentive and most shipmanagers have developed different incentive schemes for different clients and where appropriate for vessels operating in different sectors. These can include salaried employment (as opposed to day-rate or voyage contracts), returning bonus, loyalty bonus, private medical cover for the seafarer and their family, enhanced classes of travel and email access.
“The quality of a ship’s performance is only as good as the quality of the seafarer it employs, which makes the seafarer the principal asset of any shipmanager,” commented Rajaish Bajpaee, chief operating officer of the newly-established Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement Group.
Meridian Marine Management also believes in talking to its seafarers and their families. “We believe that our social obligation applies not just to the seafarer but also to their family and we have been proactive in welcoming and catering for family members at our crewing offices and involving them in our crewing seminars,” said managing director, Alastair Evitt. “We believe that getting the family of our sea staff to understand, and believe, that the safety and wellbeing of their loved ones is our highest priority is one of the most important influences in achieving our continued high retention rates.