() The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has released the Seafarer Statistics in the EU report, which explores various statistics and trends regarding seafarers during the year 2024.
This review continues to be the only statistical overview that results from the gathering of data directly from the maritime administrations that issue the certificates. It is based on data extracted from certificates and endorsements registered by EU Member States, Iceland and Norway until 31 December 2024. This data, which was transferred and recorded in the STCW Information System (STCW-IS) by 31 December 2025, represents a snapshot of the European labour market in terms of the number of seafarers holding valid certificates and endorsements in 2024. It should be noted that the numbers presented cover masters and officers who are certified but not all necessarily actively serving on board ships.
This year the data included in the STCW-IS shows that by end-2024, 177,378 masters and officers held valid certificates of competency (CoC) issued by EU Member States1 while another 136,660 masters and officers held original CoCs issued by non-EU countries with endorsements issued by EU Member States attesting their recognition (EaR). Overall, the end of 2024 saw almost a third of a million masters and officers as potential manpower to serve on board EU Member State flagged vessels.
The five EU Member States with the highest number of masters and officers holding CoCs issued by them in 2024 were, by order of magnitude, Norway, Poland, Croatia, Italy and Romania. The five EU Member States with most masters and officers holding EaRs issued by them, also by order of magnitude, were Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, Norway and Denmark. Finally, the five non-EU countries which had more masters and officers holding CoCs recognised by EU Member States were the Philippines, Ukraine, the Russian Federation, India and Turkey.
From the overview for the period 2014-2024, it can be observed that, between 2016 and 2019, the absolute number of masters and officers holding CoCs and EaRs and of ratings holding CoPs – and thereby of those available to serve on board EU Member State flagged vessels – increased. This trend was subsequently interrupted until 2022 influenced by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in both 2023 and 2024 a small increase can be observed. Nevertheless, the overall figures remained broadly stable in terms of distribution by country issuing the original CoC, by masters and officers by department, capacity, gender and age.
Source:EMSA
