Senior officer shortages in China have become serious, numbering more than 50,000 vacancies
According to statistics from the Qingdao human resource and social security department, high-level shipping personnel’s average annual salary in China has climbed to around RMB200,000 ($31,000) with undergraduate crew earning around RMB70,000 a year ($11,000).
The biggest reason for the shortage despite the high salary is the “old thoughts” towards a career at sea according to an expert from a Chinese maritime school saying many people still believed that it is not safe, sailors cannot get home for long periods and the social status of seaman is not high.
