Careers Onshore
Ex- seafarers are an important source of skilled labour for a wide range of disciplines in shore based industries, particularly the City of London.

The maritime services sector in London is an important business sector, bringing in over £1 bn to the UK economy in overseas earnings and employing approximately 14,000. This covers a wide range of jobs – lawyers, insurers, shipbrokers, surveyors, educators, bankers, owners’ representatives, ship managers and even journalists.

There are also many jobs for ex-seafarers in ports and terminals, on rivers and the engineering industries.


Maritime Lawyers
London is the world’s leading centre for maritime law with more international cases dealt with here than anywhere else in the world. There are many law firms which specialise in international trade and maritime issues who require the skills of ex-seafarers. Some are taken on as casualty investigators, whilst many former deck officers take professional legal qualifications and become admiralty solicitors.


Classification Societies
Classification societies are responsible for setting structural standards for ships and need ex-engineers and deck officers to carry out these tasks. The UK is home to Lloyd’s Register which employs several thousand ex-seafarers as well as international companies such as:
American Bureau of Shipping
Bureau Veritas
Det Norske Veritas
RINA


Insurance
Insurance companies specialising in the marine sector often employ former seafarers in their marine claims departments as consulting surveyors, energy surveyors, average adjusters and claims executives.


Maritime Surveyors
Most survey organisations employ staff made up of former seafarers such as engineers, hull and cargo surveyors as well as offshore specialists.


P&I Clubs
A type of specialist mutual insurance service for shipowners, the UK’s numerous P&I Clubs are employers of ex-seafarers for condition surveys, claims handling and loss prevention work.


Ship Finance
Many of London’s international banks have specialist ship finance departments and occasionally employ ex-seafarers. They also often use the services of maritime consultants.


Shipbroking
The UK’s many shipbrokers are responsible for matching ships with cargoes, buying and selling and ships and trading freight derivative products. Although seafaring skills are not a prerequisite in this field it is often considered useful to have detailed knowledge of vessels. Shipbroking companies that are involved in agency work do need ex-seafarers.


Shipping Companies
There are many shipping companies based in the UK which need ex-seafarers to manage their fleets and ensure that their vessels are run safely and efficiently.


Education
A number of universities run specialist courses covering the shipping business and there are also numerous seafarer training colleges. Many employ ex-seafarers as teaching staff.

See www.maritimelondon.com for further details.


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