Seafarers in the UK shipping industry: 2025
UK seafarers statistics on active at sea and non-UK seafarers qualified to work on UK registered vessels in 2025.
Documents
Details
These statistics show:
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there were an estimated 24,550 UK seafarers active at sea in 2025, a 2% increase compared to 2024
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52% of active UK seafarers were Officers (11,120 certificated and 1,540 uncertificated)
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43% of active UK seafarers were Ratings, and there were 1,380 Officer Cadets in training during the financial year 2024/25
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the majority of UK seafarers active at sea were male (80%), with most female seafarers working as Uncertificated Officers or as Ratings
In 2020, an adjustment method was developed to account for non-response in the Chamber of Shipping (CoS) survey. In previous releases, non-adjusted figures were presented alongside the adjusted figures.
As trends for non-adjusted figures over time can be impacted by changes in response rates, we have removed this series in the 2025 publication, please contact us if you require the non-adjusted series. If you wish to provide feedback, please contact seafarer.stats@dft.gov.uk.
Revision details
Following the discovery of some miscategorised data in the Seafarer Employment Survey, an update made to the assumed retirement age used to estimate certificated officers active at sea, and an erroneous data point received from the MCA concerning total Officer Cadets in training, minor revisions have been made to the 2023 and 2024 figures.
Tables SFR0101, SFR0201, SFR0206, SFR0301 and SFR0303 have been updated with the revised figures. The revisions made have had a minor effect on the figures in tables SFR0101, SFR0201, SFR0301 and SFR0303 but the revisions have not affected the overall trends. The revision made in SFR0206 to total officer Cadets in training has reduced the 2024 figure by 11% which has affected the overall trend.
These annual statistics are compiled from certification data held by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and data collected via the UK Chamber of Shipping Seafarer Employment Survey. Further details of the coverage of the statistics, uses and limitations can be found in the statistical release.
Contact us
Seafarer statistics
Email seafarer.stats@dft.gov.uk
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