OneOcean and Thetius Study Reveals Gap in Seafarer Training
Cubierto por 3 fuentesPublicado
- Ship managment internationalSeafarers face widening competency gap as digital shipping accelerates, recent research finds
- safety 4seaStudy questions seafarer training readiness for modern shipping operations
- Hellenics Shipping newsSeafarers face widening competency gap as digital shipping accelerates, recent research finds
Two new reports commissioned by OneOcean and produced by maritime innovation consultancy Thetius warn of a growing gap between seafarers' formal qualifications and their actual readiness to operate modern vessels. According to the findings, 82% of maritime professionals surveyed expressed reservations about whether current training models prepare crews for today's operations, while only 18% believe that existing training does meet that reality.
Methodology and scope
The research was based on surveys and interviews with masters, officers, engineers, superintendents, training staff, crewing personnel and shore-based operators. The reports, titled Competent or Compliant? and Decision-optimised or overloaded?, were released on October 22, 2026, and aim to examine how digitalization, increased operational demands and compliance-focused training affect seafarers' competence and decision-making.
Competency gaps
52% of respondents reported that qualified crews face difficulties in real-world operations 'often' or 'very often,' and 56% attributed part of the problem to 'tick box' training focused on formal compliance. Competency gaps are most visible in anomalous or unexpected situations (67%), high-pressure operations (56%), working across different vessel types (36%), and the use of complex digital systems such as ECDIS or reporting tools (31%). The second report adds that situational awareness and decision-making under pressure were identified as the main shortcomings, both cited by 59% of respondents, followed by systems literacy, communication and teamwork, at 49%.
Digital overload on the bridge
The second report, focused on the use of digital tools on the bridge, argues that the digital revolution has introduced new risks alongside new capabilities, as technology redistributes work rather than eliminating it. Crews increasingly act as the link between systems that do not communicate with one another, manually reconciling conflicting data between screens. The report highlights alert fatigue as a growing risk: following interference with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), 75% of seafarers reported a moderate to significant increase in workload.
Voices behind the study
Alex Mangan, OneOcean's Director of Marketing and Communications, noted that change in shipping will accelerate as vessels adopt new digital systems, and that closing this gap requires the industry to rethink its approach to competence in order to reflect real-world operations. Nick Chubb, founder of Thetius, stated that the industry must move beyond compliance-based training and equip seafarers with the skills needed to operate safely and effectively. Both reports were presented through a series of two webinars organized by Thetius featuring industry panelists.
OneOcean continued the discussion this week at the Seatrade Maritime Crew Connect Global event, where Captain Sanjeev Mathur, Senior Vice President at OneOcean, moderated a panel on the cost of managing the officer shortage, John Butler, the company's Senior Vice President of Vessel Technical Management, addressed fatigue and the erosion of shore leave, and Anna Ruszczynska, Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, discussed the training of the next generation of seafarers.
