Sample Descriptive Characteristics

Descriptive statistics have been found to be helpful in addressing specific sampling questions (Pallant, 2007), while depicting the range of sample characteristics, and highlighting the diverse individualities and unique worldviews that each interviewee beings to the sample and study. As indicated in the literature review chapter, prior to the commencement of this study in 2009, the available piracy incident data in the public domain and studies on seafarer occupational risk perception were mainly quantitative. The piracy data comprised mainly of numbers of ships attacked, then the number of seafarers held hostage or those still missing, the hostage duration and ransom figures paid out to pirates to secure the freedom of the crew. No qualitative studies seeking out seafarers' views on their occupational risk perception were available. This study, the sample characteristics show the bio-data of those interviewed. Each one of the forty-four interviewees represent and the individual who brings to this study their ‘story', being a unique perspective of seafarer occupational risks. This uniqueness of this socially constructed view is

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a crucial component in lending ‘a human face’ to the variation in research data on seafarer occupational risk perception.

The interview data provided a glimpse into the diverse characteristics of my sample. This included: their ages (groups), nationalities (by region of the world interviewees hailed from), ranks or positions that each individual held on the ship that they were working on at the time of the interview, the duration of their work experience, the researchers that they had worked on previously, as well as the ship that they were working on at the time of the interview.

(a) Age Distribution

Of the 44 interviewees, 17 (39%) were under the age of 30 years, 14 (32%) were between 31 and 40 years of age, 11 (25%) were aged between 41 and 50 years, while only two (4%) were over 50 years of age. The youngest respondent was 25 years old, while the eldest seafarer interviewed was 55-years-old. Figure 5 below illustrates the distribution of interviewees by age.

Figure 5: Sample Distribution by Age

(b) Nationality

At the time this study was conducted, most ships in the international fleet had a multi-national crew working on board. However, for the purpose of this study, each individual seafarer interviewed, presented an important personal and professional experience perspective, which was considered key in enhancing the objectivity and rich diversity of the data. Of the 44 seafarers interviewed, 24 interviewees (55%) were from the Philippines, while 8 (18%) were Eastern Europeans, 6 (14%) were from South East Asia, 5 (11%) were from Western Europe,

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and only 1 (2%) interviewee was from North America. Figure 6 below illustrates the distribution of nationalities within the research sample.

Figure 6: Sample Distribution by Nationality (Geographical Region)

Table 1 below summarises a comparison of the interviewee sample proportions with those

established in SIRC’s 2008 study entitled, The Global Labour Market for Seafarers Working

on board Merchant Cargo Ships (GLMS).

Interviewees by Geographic Regional and Percentages

Current Research

Sample

Far East Asia South Asia

Eastern Europe North America Western Europe The Philippines India Sri Lanka Indonesia Myanmar Ukraine

Croatia The USA Italy

24 (55%) 6 (14%) 8 (18% ) 1 (2%) 5 (11%) 6 (13%) GLMS (28%) (48%) (6.4%) (30%)

Table 1: Interviewees by Geographical Region & Percentages

Source: The Global Labour Market for Seafarers Working Aboard Merchant Cargo Ships

(GLMS) 2008

A disaggregation of the research sample by geographical region of origin showed that 87% of the interviewees were from six countries across the Far East, South Asia and Eastern Europe,

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while the remaining 13% came from North America and Western Europe. The 2003 SIRC Global Seafarer Labour Market Survey (GLMS) indicated that 70% of seafarers were drawn from ten countries in South Asia and Eastern Europe, while 30% were from elsewhere. Although the proportions in both studies are not exactly the same, the sample proportions resonated with the GLMS to the extent that both studies highlighted the multi-national nature of the global seafarer labour force. The two studies also established that a significant proportion of seafarers currently working in the international fleet hail from only a few countries, mainly in the Far East, South Asia and Eastern Europe. Sustainability of maritime transport hinges on the quality of the work force supply. Therefore, regular updates on the human resource trends in the industry are closely monitored and forecasts published. The current study reiterated the findings of a major global seafarer work force update by BIMCO and ISF 2013 that identified the following trends in labour supply in the shipping industry.

This observation corroborates findings published in, indicating the following two observations that were found to be true for this study as well.

a) Firstly, that the Philippines and India are major seafarer supply countries, with many seafarers from these countries working on foreign flagships. The BIMCO study established that 29.5% of seafarers worldwide were from the Far East, while 12.8% were from the Indian subcontinent. On the other hand, 55% of the sample in this study is from the Philippines. This indicates that the Philippines were slightly over-represented in the sample, compared to the reality in the global workforce.

b) Secondly, the BIMCO study established that 20.8% of the global seafarer's supply was nationals of Eastern European countries. On the other hand, 8% of the interviewees in this sample were from Eastern Europe. This proportion of seafarers drawn from a single Eastern European country resonates with findings reported in the BIMCO/ISF publication, which pointed to an increase in the number of Eastern European seafarers in the international fleet, and particularly from Ukraine, Latvia and Croatia (BIMCO/ISF, 2010). Table 2 below summarises the

findings of the BIMCO/ISF report that was based on data obtained by a global seafarer labor survey, having been carried out through questionnaires sent to governments, shipping companies, crewing experts and maritime administrators.

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Table 2: BIMCO/ISF 2010 Seafarer Manpower Update

Source: BIMCO/ISF estimates

Based on a comparison of the distribution of geographical regions represented in the sample, and the findings of other studies on global seafarer nationality distribution characteristics led to the conclusion that the sample from the current study compared favourably with the nationality characteristics of the global seafarer workforce. This observation enhanced to some extent the possibility of relating the findings of the current research to the views of other seafarers about maritime piracy. For instance, although Filipinos were over-represented in this study's sample, the proportion of Filipinos and Indians when combined (69%) was similar to that in the GLMS. In addition, the sample in this study includes a wide range of different nationalities, including seafarers from Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Myanmar, India, the Philippines, Croatia, the USA and the Netherlands. Thus, although this is not a quantitative study where more attention is paid to representativeness than to validity, this study is broadly similar in quota terms to what we know of the composition of crews in the international fleet.

(c) Marital Status

Concerning the marital status of the sample, 26 (59%) of the interviewees were married, 16 (36%) were single, while the remaining two (5%) were separated from their partners at the time of the interview. Figure 7 below depicts the distribution of the marital status of the individuals covered in this study.

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Figure 7: Sample Distribution by Marital Status

(d) Work Experience vs ships worked on

From the sample of 44 seafarers, 14 had worked as seafarers for between 0 and are years, 12 had worked as seafarers for between 6 and workforce years, 10 had worked as seafarers between 11 and 20 years, while the remaining four had each worked as seafarers for over 20 years. The distribution of seafarer work experience is illustrated in Figure 8 below.

Figure 8: Sample Distribution by Seafarer Work Experience

(e) Current Position/Rank on Ship

Out of the sample of 44 seafarers, 14 (32%) were Senior Officers, 13 (29%) were Junior Officers, while 17 (39%) were Ratings as illustrated in Figure 9 below. A further disaggregation of Senior Officers, flagships in Figure 10, established that 43% of the Senior Officers were Chief Engineers, 36% of the Senior Officers were Chief Mates/Officers, and 14% worked in security-related roles, while 7% were Navigation Officers. This latter

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Figure 10: Seafarer Ranks within Sample Figure 9: Senior & Junior Officers in sample

Of the Junior Officers in the sample, 15% of them were Third Officers, Cadets (20%), 8.1%

were Second Officers, 8.1% were 4th Engineers and 8% were Communication Officers. This

disaggregation of the sample who was Junior Officers has illustrated in Figure 10 above. The proportion of Ratings in the sample included Able Bodied Seamen (20%), Engine Oilers (10%) Chief Cooks (15%), Ordinary Seamen (15%), Wipers (15%), Sailors (10%) and Motormen (5%). This disaggregation of Ratings in the sample is illustrated in Figure 11 below.

Figure 1: Disaggregation of Ratings in the Sample

Table 4 below provides a summary of the Seafarer Rank distribution in my study compared to

two other international studies on the seafarer labour force. The studies are listed in chronological order, to reflect the trend in the seafarer workforce in the period preceding my study. The two other studies include: (a) the SIRC 2008 Global Labour Market for Seafarers (GLMS) study; (b) the 2010 BIMCO/ISF Manpower Update that reported that the 2010 global

36% 43% 14% 7% Chief Mate/Officer Chief Engineer Security & Security Supervisor Navigation Officer

Ratings (17)

10% Abl e Bodi ed_{Seaman (AB)}

Cadet (trai ni ng) Chi ef Cook Motorman Ordi nary Seaman Wi per Sai l or

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seafarer workforce supply comprised 1,371,000 seafarers, including 624,000 officers and 747,000 Ratings; and (c) my fieldwork, conducted in 2011.

Senior Officers

Junior

Officers Ratings Total

GLMS Study 2008 21.5% 22.1% 56.4% 100% BIMCO/ISF 2010 45.51% 54.49% Current research fieldwork (2011) 32% 30% 38%

Table 4: A comparison of Global Seafarer Rank Distribution in three studies

The above comparison in the seafarer rank distribution highlights that although my sample embraces a range of ranks including Chief Engineers, Cadets and Ordinary/Able-bodied (AB) Seamen; there was an over-representation of Officers.

(f) Type of ships worked on

At the time this study was undertaken, the interviewees had worked on a variety of ships. Of the 44 interviewees in the sample, slightly over 50% (21) had worked on a ship as it passed the East African coast. Notably, one interviewee had transited East Africa six times as a seafarer. One other interviewee said his ship had passed the East African coast countless times and undertook such voyages at least twice a year. Figure 12 below illustrates the variety of ships that the interviewees worked on at the time this study was undertaken. These vessels included Roll-On-Roll-Off (Ro-Ro), bulk carriers, car carriers, chemical/gas carriers, container carriers, passenger and cruise ships, and general cargo ships. In the ten years preceding this study, the interviewees had also worked on a wide range of ships in the international fleet.

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The range of ships that my sample had worked on in the last ten years is shown in Figure 13 below. These included bulk carriers, car carriers, chemical/gas carriers, container carriers, Passenger and Cargo/Ro-Ro, multi-purpose heavy-lifts, tugboats, repair ships, fish trawlers, navy auxiliary ships, refrigerated ships and general cargo carriers.

Figure 13: Distribution of sample by ships previously worked on

4.9 Chapter Summary

This study was undertaken as an empirical inquiry, to establish the views of a sample of seafarers about maritime piracy, their levels of experience with piracy and how they rated piracy as compared to the other risks that they faced at work. The research included face-to-face interviews of forty-four interviewees during a six-month period. Each interviewee was considered as having the potential to incorporate some unique cultural and seafaring work experience that informed the lens through their views on their occupational risks was constructed. Therefore, the responses could provide the (so far) elusive ‘voice’ of seafarers in the worldwide anti-piracy narrative. The diverse qualities of my research sample include their ages, nationalities, length of work experience, their ranks, the ships that they had worked on, their seafaring occupational risk(s) and the interviewees' ranking of maritime piracy relative to the other situations in their maritime work environment, which in their opinion, pose a threat of harm to them. In this chapter, the robustness of quantitative data analysis was harnessed in order to condense detailed information on the descriptive characteristics of the sample, while also attempting to organise the data into meaningful categories. This enabled a display of the diverse sample characteristics in a simplified and summarised form accessible to a wider audience (Bryman, 2008).

By targeting a diverse group of ship crewmembers, this study sought to bring a new dimension to the understanding of risk perception in general, and seafarer occupational risk in particular. The newness envisioned, was in the involvement of seafarers as the primary research target

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group of a qualitative study on seafarer risk perception. Each interview was recorded, transcribed and coded in preparation for data analysis. This chapter provided a quantitative description of the disaggregated sample data, by focusing on the personal and professional characteristics and views of the sample. In so doing, this chapter served as a precursor to the more detailed quantitative and quantitative data analyses undertaken, details of which are discussed in the next chapter.

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