Global Ship Operators Employment Report 2025
There has been limited coverage of the wider thoughts and feelings of ship operators. As a business passionate about the maritime sector we felt that it was a great opportunity to create a unique and extensive global survey. We feel it is vital to expose, highlight and establish a new benchmark across several topics including retention, career development, AI, remuneration, and benefits. This is the first survey of its kind in the sector and one that we believe will be important for years to come.
Retention
Retention is a growing challenge in maritime, with 71% of ship operators planning to change jobs within the next year. Early-career professionals and those in the Asia-Pacific region (86%) are the most active job seekers, driven by career progression and better pay.
Compensation remains key to loyalty, with 31% of employees citing salary and benefits as their top reason for staying with their employer. 56% of ship operators were headhunted in the past six months, underscoring the need for competitive pay and career development to retain talent.
Career moves
53% of ship operators would turn down a job without at least one day of remote work. Flexible hours are equally important, with 55% unwilling to accept roles lacking this option. Transparency matters too—84% of job seekers value seeing salary and benefits in job adverts.
AI in the workplace
AI is reshaping industries, but adoption in maritime remains limited, with only 20% of ship operators using AI at work. Usage varies, with the Americas leading at 29% and Europe trailing at 16%. Interestingly, 50–59- year-olds report slightly higher usage than younger employees.
Despite low adoption, 73% of ship operators view AI positively, seeing it as a tool to enhance efficiency and support human roles, though concerns about job losses persist.
Career Development
Career growth remains a key motivator for ship operators, with 56% aspiring to become charterers. Among these, 75% aim to make the transition within two years. However, only 58% of ship operators receive regular progression reviews, despite 91% recognising their importance for career growth and retention.
Reward and benefits
Salary and benefits are now central to employee retention, with bonuses, remote working, and flexible hours being highly valued. However, 32% of ship operators report not having benefits communicated to them, highlighting the importance of transparency. 77% of ship operators received a pay rise, with most seeing increases up to 10%.
Contact the authors
For a detailed discussion of the report's findings, please contact the authors directly:
Mark Charman, CEO & Founder
Kelsey Purse, Director of Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas
Lorenzo Agatiello, Director of Asia-Pacific
Media Enquiries
For media enquiries and interviews, please contact the Faststream Marketing Team.
Talk to an expert about your recruitment needs
If you would like to discuss your recruitment needs, please get in touch with your local team:
Call one of our teams or complete your details in the form below:
Latest Insights
View All InsightsUpdate - Recruitment Scam - Norwegian Fishing Fleet
We have been made aware of a scam involving individuals falsely claiming to represent Faststream Recruitment.These individuals are offering jobs on the Norwegian fishing fleet and contacting candid...
7 Signs Your Maritime Salaries May Be Falling Behind the Market
Salary expectations in the maritime and shipping sectors are shifting quickly. Demand for specialist skills, competition between employers and global hiring trends mean pay levels can move faster t...
Why Some Specialist Maritime Roles Stay Open for Months
Many maritime businesses have experienced it. A critical specialist role opens. The search begins with confidence. Weeks pass. Then months. Interviews happen, candidates fall short, and the role re...
The High-Volume Crew Hiring Survival Checklist
High-volume hiring in crew recruitment rarely breaks because people don’t know what they’re doing. It breaks when demand spikes, timelines tighten, decisions slow, and multiple stakeholders are pul...
The Maritime Career Roadmap Framework: Where You Are vs Where You Want to Be
You don’t accidentally build a great maritime career. But you can absolutely drift into one you never consciously chose. Most maritime professionals aren’t stuck. They’re unclear. Unclear on what t...
Budget Smart Hiring with RPO: A Finance-Led Guide to Predictable Recruitment Spend
Hiring budgets are easier to manage when maritime recruitment activity is planned, measured, and reported consistently. For many finance leaders, the challenge isn’t simply the recruitment fee; it’...
Singapore Maritime Recruitment Update 2026
Singapore continues to set the pace as one of the world’s most competitive and strategically important maritime talent markets. Hiring is steady, but the tone has shifted: organisations are making ...
Maritime skills-based attraction: Sell problems to solve and skills to build
Most job adverts are written to filter people out.In 2026, the best ones are written to pull the right people in by showing the problems they’ll solve, the skills they’ll build, and the future val...
Closing capability gaps in maritime when permanent headcount isn’t the answer
There’s a familiar pattern in maritime leadership teams. A priority initiative goes live. A key person becomes unavailable. A transformation programme hits the point where specialist depth is no lo...
Your EVP needs to match year one - or people leave fast
If you want a quick reality check on your EVP, ask this: Would a new joiner say your recruitment story matched their first 90 days? Because in 2026, the risk for maritime employers often isn’t tha...
The Maritime Workforce Gaps That Could Jeopardise Your 2026 Plan
If there is one factor that will shape your 2026 plan, it is this: having the right people ready, in the right roles, at the right time. It is an uncomfortable truth in maritime. Demand shifts fast...
What does it mean to be an AI-literate maritime leader in 2026?
AI is becoming part of everyday maritime leadership. In our Senior Maritime Executive Report,AI usage rose from 26% in 2023 to 68% in 2025. The same report shows that only 10% of executives feel ve...