BIMCO and ICS Seafarer Workforce report MET questionnaire

SEAFARER WORKFORCE REPORT 2026

Survey of Maritime Education and Training (MET) Institutions

BIMCO and ICS are preparing the Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, which aims to provide estimates of the global supply and demand for seafarers. It has traditionally been prepared every five years since 1990 and is the trusted source of information on the global situation related to seafarer training and ship’s crewing.

Education and training of seafarers are vital to maintaining the supply of competent and qualified seafarers to meet the demands from the industry to safely operate the world merchant fleet. Therefore, it is crucial to preparing the Seafarer Workforce Report that BIMCO and ICS gain an understanding of any issues or trends concerning seafarer’s education and training that may have an impact on their future supply or affect their ability to perform the functions required on ships.

BIMCO and ICS are seeking the assistance and expertise of MET institutions around the world to provide their inputs into the Seafarer Workforce Report to help identify the key issues and trends in seafarer supply and demand in 2020. This survey is designed to be completed by MET institutions (one survey per institution), ideally completed by those managing or lecturing at the institution.

This survey should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

If you believe there is a more appropriate person/department to answer this questionnaire, please forward it to them or please send us their contact details by email (marinesurveys@bimco.org).

Privacy and Data Protection
• We will use the information provided to estimate the global supply and demand for seafarers, which will be reported in the Seafarer Workforce Report 2026.

• We will not disclose your personal information to any third parties. BIMCO and ICS act as joint controllers for the data collected via Jotform and will process your information solely in accordance with this notice and our respective privacy policies.

• All personal information collected on the JotForm will remain confidential and will be deleted upon completion of the project.

• Until the report is published, all inputted data in response to the questions will remain strictly confidential to the project members of BIMCO and ICS.

BIMCO Privacy Policy

ICS Privacy Policy

Should you require any assistance in completing the questionnaire, please do not hesitate to contact marinesurveys@ bimco.org

Thank you for your time and effort in completing this questionnaire.

General information

Name of MET institution *

Where is your MET institution located (select country)?*

Q1. What types of maritime education and training does your MET institution provide? Please select all that apply.*

Q2. What was your MET institution’s annual intake of first year officer cadets in 2024?

Q2.a Deck officer cadets: *

Add a number

Q2.b Engineering officer cadets:*

Add a number

Q2.c Electro-technical officer cadets:*

Add a number

Q3. What do you anticipate will be your MET institution’s annual intake of first year officer cadets in 2026?

Q3.a Deck officer cadets: *

Add a number

Q3.b Engineering officer cadets:*

Add a number

Q3.c Electro-technical officer cadets:*

Add a number

Q4. What was your MET institution’s annual intake of first year rating trainees in 2024?

Q4.a Deck rating: *

Add a number

Q4.b Engine rating:*

Add a number

Q4.c Electro-technical rating:*

Add a number

Q4.d Catering crew / rating :*

Add a number

Q5. What do you anticipate will your MET institution’s annual intake of first-year rating trainees in 2026?

Q5.a Deck rating: *

Add a number

Q5.b Engine rating:*

Add a number

Q5.c Electro-technical rating:*

Add a number

Q6. Please indicate how easy/difficult you consider it to be cadets/trainees from your MET institution to find cadet/trainee berths to enable them to obtain the requisite seagoing service to qualify for certification*

	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate / Neutral	Difficult	Very Difficult	Not applicable
Officer Cadets
Ratings Trainees

Q7. What percentage of candidates (by training type) who commenced training at your MET institution actually obtained an STCW certification in 2023/2024?*

	1-25%	26-50%	51-75%	76-100%	Not Applicable
Deck officer cadets
Engineering officer cadets
Dual officer cadets
Electro-technical officer cadets
Deck rating trainees
Engine rating trainees
Electro-technical rating trainees
Other ratings

Q8. How has the number of cadets/trainees who obtained a first level STCW certificate at the end of their course changed from 2021 to 2024?*

	Increased	No change	Decreased	Not Applicable
Deck officer cadets
Engineering officer cadets
Electro-technical officer cadets
Deck rating trainees
Engine rating trainees

Q8b. If you selected "decreased" in the above question (Q8), would you like to state a reason ?

Q9. Regarding the uptake of cadet/trainee courses in your MET institution for the last academic year, which one of the following best describes your situation?*

	Increased	Remained more or less the same	Decreased	Not applicable
The number of applications received has...

Q 9.a . What, in your opinion, is the reason for such a decrease?

Young persons are not interested in seafaring careers, potentially because of perceptions about the demands of the job.Not many young persons are aware of the possibilities associated with a seafaring career and present efforts to inform and attract them are not sufficient.There is an increase in the number of MET institutions who compete for a small number of applicantsIt is getting increasingly difficult to find employment after completion of training at MET institutions and this has impacted the interest in seafaring as a career/job.

Q10. Over the period 2021 to 2024 how did your annual intake of students generally change?*

	Increased	Remained more or less the same	Decreased	N.A
Officer cadets
Rating trainees

Q10 a. Would you like to share the reason for this change?

Feel free to leave blank if this information cannot be shared

Q11. Does your MET institution have any kind of policy related to the intake of women students?*

YesNo

Q11 a. Would you like to explain the policy in brief?

Feel free to leave blank if this information cannot be shared

Q12. For the following question please answer in relation to women candidates. What number of students in your institution are women?

12.a Officer cadets (includes Deck, Engineering and ETO cadets who are women)*

Input total officer cadets who are women

12.b Rating trainees (includes Deck, Engine and ET rating trainees who are women)*

Input total rating trainees who are women

12.c Catering crew (includes catering and other service crew who are women)*

Input total rating trainees who are women

Q13. Has the number of women candidates changed in the past five years?

IncreasedRemained more or less the sameDecreased

Q13 a. Would you like to share the reason for this change?

Feel free to leave blank if this information cannot be shared

Q14. What percentage of officer graduates (of all genders) from your MET institution may only initially find employment at sea as ratings (for whatever reason)?*

Q15. In your opinion, what percentage of global seafarer demand is met by your country?*

Q16. The pace of technological and regulatory developments is increasing, and maritime education and training is crucial to ensure that seafarers are competent to perform the functions required on board ships. Which areas of training standards do you see a need for further improvement or modification? (Select all that apply)*

Q16 a. Do you have any information to share about your selection in Question 16 above'?

Feel free to comment

Q17. Do you have any general comments on the MET situation globally, in your country, or in your institution?

Feel free to comment

Q18. In your opinion, is online training of seafarers a good replacement to traditional method of teaching? Give your reasons for your answers?

Q19. What, in your opinion, will improve the quality of seafarers (Select all that apply)*

Improved screening of studentsImproved traditional teaching methodsImprove contemporary teaching methods ( use of more digital tools)Longer shore-based trainingLonger sea-based trainingBetter and stricter control of assessments so only those that fit the criteria become seafarersOther

Q20. In general, in the past, we have seen a shortage of officers and a surplus of ratings. What, in your opinion, is the main reason for this difference?

Feel free to comment

Q21. In order for us to close the gap of the officers and ratings, what are the steps that stakeholders should take. (Select all that apply)*

STCW Convention and Code review should carefully revise the training requirementsModel courses for ratings (support training) should be improvedQuality of training in the METs should be controlled through audit schemesShipping companies should employ more ratings, with a view to allowing them to learn furtherShipping companies may also conduct in-house rating trainings, to allow them to gain higher certifications going forwardOther

Are you willing to be contacted if BIMCO / ICS have further questions for your MET institution ?

YesNo

Name

First NameLast Name

Please state your position?

Please state your contact address *

example@example.com

Phone Number

Country /Area CodePhone Number

Do you have other comments you would like to share?