Life Would Have Been a Thousand Times Simpler if I Were Not a Seafarer: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Skills Retention in the British Shipping Industry

This chapter examines skills retention in the British shipping industry. In doing so, the chapter explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on seafarers as individuals and the potential for serious repercussions of such impact for the UK seafaring industry as a whole. The findings indicate a clear need for a coordinated effort from the key stakeholders, including national government and shipping companies, to work together to support the seafaring labour force. Providing sufficient support has the potential to mitigate the risk of increasing numbers of seafarers leaving the profession and reduced numbers choosing to join it, both of which could have profound consequences for the industry and more widely.