At the recent Quality Shipping Conference, BIMCO predicted that a shortfall from the present 16,000 officers may grow to 46,000, or 12% of the total work force, within 10 years time assuming that the recruitment levels of today are maintained. A substantial stimulation of both recruitment and training is required. In particular, BIMCO believes that the trainee rate needs to be stepped up to a recommendedlevel of 1 in 7 officers, or about 1.5 trainees per ship. In addition, the industry is continuing to see startling changes in nationalities and hence in areas of recruitment.

The themes of the Conference, which was recently organised by the Danish Maritime Authority in Copenhagen (Denmark), dealt predominately with the issues of how to create and sustain a safetyculture, the effectiveness of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code and Standards for Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention, new technologies, and the question of competent seafarers in the future. It was suggested that developing a safety culture presents one of the biggest challenges in years to come. A recommendation was made to establish a human resource management programme with goes beyond statutory requirements ensures proper communication and information and, most importantly, actively involves the crew. It is important to address pro-active learning systems in order to actively monitor and learn from, for instance, near miss accidents; and breaking the cultural barrier by understanding how to benefit from cultural differences and by working together ashore and onboard.