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WORKBOAT Offshore Workforce Facing the Challenge By Carl Annessa, Executive VP and COO for Hornbeck Marine Services There is no question but that the U.S. maritime industry faces some real workforce challenges. The roots of the problem are widespread, ranging from changes in our society that make workers less willing to be away from their homes to obstacles of a licensing system that was developed in another age and hasn't kept pace with the needs of mariners today. But as we look for solutions to our workforce shortages, we should not ignore some of the demographic trends going on around us, both positive and negative. The first trend is anything but positive. It is the graying of America and the increasing number of baby boomers hitting retirement age. This can be seen in every industry. In the petrochemical industry they refer to it as "The Great Shift Change," as a high percentage of their managers and top experts enter the zone for retirement. These companies are now scrambling to fast-track their younger employees to take over. The maritime industry is no different than the rest of the industries in the country. Take the employees that are represented by the members of the Offshore Marine Service Association, or OMSA, for example. OMSA is the national trade association for the owners and operators of the workboats that support our nation's offshore oil and gas sector. The association's members run the supply boats and utility boats that carry all of the supplies and equipment needed to explore and produce offshore energy resources. They run the crewboats that carry so many of the offshore workers to their facilities. They run the liftboats that maintain near-shore facilities. They operate the tugboats and barges that move rigs to their locations and build the offshore infrastructure. In short, these vessels are the lifeline to America's offshore energy supply. For so many years, we have relied on our most experienced mariners and now that workforce is approaching retirement age. OMSA recently surveyed its members on the ages of their workers and the numbers were a clear wake-up call. According to the responses, 42 percent of the offshore industry's licensed officers are above the age of 50. Roughly a quarter of the documented and undocumented mariners are also above 50. That makes sense. These men and women are our most experienced most highly valued crewmembers. Obviously, companies will want to keep these mariners as long as they want to work. But as an industry those numbers should tell us that we need to think about the future. Our sector relies heavily on the hawse pipe approach and advancing mariners from the deck level up to the wheelhouse or the engine room. If it takes five-to-ten years for a mariner to take that climb, and if 40 percent of our captains and engineers could potentially retire in the next ten years, then obviously we need to keep that hawse pipe filled with mariners. One company's personnel experts once said, "I don't hire deckhands. I hire future captains." That approach will become critical in the next few years. In the short term we need to see to the needs of our current officers. One of the concerns that OMSA's members are grappling with right now is the Coast Guard's efforts to develop new fitnessfor-duty standards. The maritime industry has an obligation to the public and to government to make sure that we don't put a mariner who is unwell or unfit in a critical position onboard a vessel. By the same token, we have an obligation to our mariners to make sure that any policies on medical fitness are not heavy-handed or ill-conceived. From an OMSA objective, we will continue to work with the Coast Guard to produce meaningful common-sense standards. The other piece of that puzzle is that the maritime industry as a whole may need to become much more involved in wellness programs for mariners. Those of us who are entering that "zone" ourselves know that it brings a host of nag- ging medical issues. The key is to keep those issues from turning into the sort of debilitating health concern that can end a mariner's career before he or she is ready to retire. The industry has not aggressively pursued those sorts of programs in the past and the efforts that have been tried have not produced spectacular success stories. However, that may be critical to meeting the needs of the future. Another demographic trend in the country may work to our advantage. We are not alone in facing a worker shortage. By one estimate, by the year 2012, the U.S. will have about three million more jobs than workers to fill them. Some predict this will set off another major migration within the country as areas with jobs they can't fill try to get people to move from areas that have high unemployment. The threat is that economically depressed areas will lose their best workers, only exacerbating their problems. The maritime industry has the ability to turn that economic model on its ear. Our mariners can live almost anywhere in the country. For example, mariners in the offshore sector work on vessels for two weeks or a month and then return home to their own community with a paycheck that is well above the average local income. This may be the industry's strongest selling points as we look to meet our crewing needs. Again, using our industry as an example, mariners meet their vessel, do their hitch offshore and then return to their homes, where they can remain a part of their community, where their kids go to local schools, they belong to their local churches and they spend their paychecks with local merchants. Because of this, we have an ability that most industries don't, that is the ability to recruit workers from areas with higher unemployment and a surplus of workers. In our case, the areas of South Louisiana where we have always recruited the majority of our mariners have nearly full employment, but within a five hour drive there are communities About the Author Carl Annessa is Chief Operating Officer/ Vice President for Operations for Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc., a leading operator of offshore supply vessels and coastal tank barges. On October 17th, Mr. Annessa testified at a Congressional hearing on maritime workforce issues held by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. He testified on behalf of the Offshore Marines Service Association and outlined some of the issues facing mariners who work on vessels in the offshore oil and gas sector. with 10% unemployment.Of course it is not that simple. People in those areas don't know anything about our industry. They have never seen our boats. We will need the help of local employment officials and school counselors to help sell our industry and to prepare their folks to serve in it. Local communities could use federal funds to assist potential applicants in applying for merchant mariner documents or, in the future TWIC cards. Assistance that allows job applicants to comply with drug and alcohol testing, as well as fitness for duty testing will help make those candidates much more attractive and increase their starting wages significantly. Clearly, the maritime industry faces some significant challenges in meeting our crewing needs. While every industry in America is facing workforce challenges, there are few industries that are as uniquely positioned to offer the same opportunities that we can give our mariners. That is a strength that we must draw on as we address our personnel needs. 52 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News