AS AN island nation, the UK merchant navy once stood as a source of major employment for British seafarers, particularly those in proud port cities like my home in Merseyside near Liverpool or others like Glasgow, Belfast and Southampton, the names of which would be proudly displayed on the sterns of vessels flying the Red Ensign. 

Unfortunately, the sight of the Red Ensign on a vessel is becoming less frequent and is even less likely to represent employment of British seafarers, more common now is the flag of convenience — countries like Liberia, Marshall Islands or Panama too often with poorly paid crew from the global South. 

In fact, the UK currently faces historic lows in the number of registered vessels, indicating a wider problem — the decline in the UK merchant navy and a source of longstanding employment, particularly for coastal communities. The UK is currently also facing historic lows in the number of qualified active seafarers. 

Industries come and go, technological advances, environmental demands, consumer habits, all contribute to change. However, there hasn’t been a decrease in demand for shipping; 95 per cent of all goods entering the UK do so by sea, shipping remains the main mode of transport for trade between countries, it is the backbone of the global economy.

One of the main causes of this decline in qualified seafarers is the rise of “social dumping,” the practice of employing workers on weaker pay and conditions, undermining local standards. This practice was epitomised in March 2022 when P&O Ferries, having already “flagged out,” illegally sacked 786 maritime professionals, Nautilus and RMT members, replacing them with agency crew from abroad, some paid less than the UK minimum wage. 

The decline in the employment of British seafarers isn’t an exclusively UK phenomena, seafarers from many higher cost countries have struggled for employment internationally due to the growth of flags of convenience and the driving down of wages and employment conditions. However, most countries with a coastline retain some form of “cabotage,” whereby they seek to address the competitive advantage of foreign flagged vessels and foreign crew in their domestic coastal trading. There are very good reasons to do so especially from a national resilience and security perspective. This is why the most prominent promoter of cabotage is the United States.

The UK has historically been a global outlier without any substantial cabotage law — until the egregious actions of P&O Ferries. The lack of protection left our industry particularly exposed and vulnerable to international trends undermining employment of our nation’s seafarers. 

Post-P&O Ferries any vessel trading in and out of a UK port more than 120 times per year must pay the equivalent of the UK national minimum wage, coupled with the mandatory application of the Seafarers’ Welfare Charter promised by the new government, we have what is starting to look like the beginnings of cabotage.

This is a good start, as the UK invests heavily in offshore renewables, building on this approach to implement UK-wide cabotage and fair pay agreements, would help to ensure public investment is supporting the creation of good UK seafaring jobs while at the same time encouraging the growth of the UK ship register. 

Cabotage alone will not reverse the downward trend. There is also an urgent need to reform maritime training, supporting young people, from all backgrounds, to access a career at sea. 

The Maritime Skills Commission (MSC) has called for 100 per cent funding for the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme, which currently stands at 50 per cent. 

The MSC has also recommended the establishment of a single national maritime training provider to ensure sponsoring employers are held accountable for the training and sea time provided to cadets/trainees in return for the financial support provided. Creating a world-class training regime will ensure we can attract more people with greater diversity into our industry. 

The UK’s merchant navy may not return to the days of “Britannia ruling the waves,” but this does not mean it cannot be a source of good, unionised jobs, particularly for those living in our port cities and coastal communities. To revitalise our merchant navy and make it fit for the future, we need the government to support us, to provide protection from unfair competition, to create jobs and reform the UK’s training provision. 

As ever, we stand ready to work with the government to support and invest in our nation’s maritime industry. 

Mark Dickinson is general secretary of maritime union Nautilus International.