The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused huge disruption for employers of Ukrainian crews as well as causing a great deal of distress to Ukrainian seafarers.
Since this conflict began two months’ ago Danica has continued to meet our clients’ needs and we are proactively closing the crewing gaps in the following ways:
Very early on we established a specific website where Ukrainian seafarers, who for some reason are out of Ukraine, can register their interest in joining a vessel through Danica. Our strong presence on social media has also proved to be very helpful in enabling us to reach out to Ukrainian seafarers outside of Ukraine.
We have negotiated with crews onboard to extend their tenure and make shorter vacations where they do not return to Ukraine (as they cannot leave again). We have arranged holiday apartments where their families can join them for vacation.
The recruitment efforts in our offices in Latvia/Baltic States and Russia have been stepped up and, in many cases, we have been able to offer substitutes for the unavailable Ukrainian seafarers.
Danica already had recruitment partners in Romania, Turkey, Georgia, and the Philippines and, thanks to these partnerships, we can offer a wider range of nationalities at the same cost levels as the Ukrainian seafarers. Of course, all seafarers recruited through our partnerships and new to us are robustly screened and checked to the usual Danica high standards which ensures that our clients always get qualified and competent crew onboard.
We are pleased that we are progressing at pace to fully include these partnerships in the Danica group and we are now able a to offer a one-point recruitment service with our same set of high standards for a wider range of crew nationalities – providing you with quality and cost efficient manning you expect from us.
Danica has been very proactive in assisting the families of seafarers who have fled from Ukraine. We have brought families to Hamburg, where our head office is, arranged accommodation for them, and helped them to register at the German refugee authorities. In addition we have helped seafarers and their families in other places in Europe.
We are also supporting our Ukrainian office staff. Several of Danica’s Odessa staff members have transferred to Hamburg or to our new office in Cyprus, while the remaining staff members in Ukraine now work from home in the same way they did during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Ukrainians fill about 10% of the positions in the world-wide merchant fleet and represent an important sector of the global seafarer pool, especially for officer ranks. However, currently all Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 59 years are not allowed to leave the country which is resulting in some crewing concerns.
It is clear when such a high number of seafarers are removed from the international pool then it causes waves of disruption through the entire maritime HR world.
Our thoughts are with all those impacted by the terrible situation in Ukraine and, while we are putting all these contingencies in place, we still hope for a swift resolution.
We are always happy to speak to clients and prospective clients, especially in these difficult times, so please get in touch on the numbers below.
And look out for us at Posidonia in June where we will be meeting clients in person.
Henrik Jensen, Danica Founder and Managing Director
Office: +49 40 21 09 19 032
Mobile: +49 173 62 11 998
