The predicted growth of the world merchant fleet over the next years in combination with the reduced attractiveness of a career at sea in times of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely further fuel the trend of an overall shortage in the supply of skilled seafarers. The new employment website SEANEXT offers ship operators a way to address this challenge by granting them access to a global database of maritime professionals.

The new online job portal SEANEXT is a one-stop solution for global marine recruitment, connecting ship operators with a wide pool of seafarers around the world seeking employment. The versatile platform for all maritime jobs offers users a variety of functions, aiming to simplify recruitment processes in an increasingly competitive labour market.

“Some ranks have always been in tighter supply than others, with senior ranks usually harder to fill than junior ranks. In the future, it will become increasingly important for employers to expand their recruitment activities to as many regions as possible to accommodate for any shortage of supply for particular nationalities or ranks. SEANEXT grants hiring companies access to a unique database of potential candidates around the world, enabling them to find exactly the right applicant for the job”, explains Anil Raghav, Managing Director of SEANEXT.

The employment website allows recruiters to easily track applicants and the data provided by them using readily available search filters. In addition, the platform helps HR departments to streamline the communication by offering in-app messaging to follow up with applicants and schedule appointments such as first interviews. Dashboards providing the recruiter with information on the hiring activities support businesses in measuring the efficiency of their recruitment processes.

“The industry expects costs for crewing operations and manning to rise as an immediate consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and tightening seafarer supply conditions in general. With SEANEXT, hiring companies can eliminate some of the tiresome and time-consuming steps when searching for the right candidate as well as reduce unnecessary paper trails, overall increasing the efficiency of their recruitment process and thereby reducing costs”, concludes Raghav.

Over 600 seafarers have already registered on the platform. It is free of charge for seafarers seeking employment. Employers looking for suitable candidates receive a six months free trial period and can opt for a paid subscription at the end of the period.