Winter 2013 edition of Faststream’s maritime magazine STREAMLINE “THE CONFIDENCE ISSUE”. In this edition we ask whether economic recovery is being translated into improved global maritime employment levels.

1. * WINTER 2013
THE FASTSTREAM MAGAZINE
STREAMLINE
THE
CONFIDENCE
ISSUE
TOP LEVEL HIRES SIGNPOST WAY TO RECOVERY?
LOCAL HIRES RULE
GROWING CANDIDATE CONFIDENCE
03
Faststream
news
10
Contracting
offers way out
of recession
14
How to attract
the right
candidates

2. WELCO
In this issue of
Streamline we ask
whether or not
economic recovery
is being translated
into improved global
maritime employment
levels. Are maritime
industry employers
taking on more staff
and are people
finding it easier to
get new jobs?
2
FUNDAMENTALLY,
IT’S ALL ABOUT
CONFIDENCE
As one the world’s leading global
maritime recruitment organisations
with consultants in the UK, Singapore
and the USA, covering a range of
markets from seafarers to chartering
managers, Faststream is in a good
position to see what impact, if any,
rising economic confidence has had
on maritime employers.
Fundamentally, it’s all about
confidence. Confidence that
freight rates will rise; confidence
that the business has a future
and, for candidates needing to
move, confidence that their house
can be sold for a higher price.
Confidence translates into economic
improvements and higher levels of
employment. Voluntary employee
turnover is on the rise as disgruntled
staff looking for the next move are
feeling more confident that the time
has come to take the leap.
As you will read throughout this
edition of Streamline, it is certainly a
very mixed bag. At the top end we are
seeing a very strong surge in interest
for hiring senior management teams,
whilst on board ships the demand
for seafarers in the offshore, cruise
and LNG sectors is rising. However,
companies looking at expanding are
also taking a careful look at who they
already have within their offices and
nurturing this talent. We are seeing
a rise in the number of short-term
contracts, particularly in the USA,
and believe that this model offers
opportunities to both employers and
candidates.
In this issue we’re also delighted
for you to meet Eric Peters who is
Faststream’s newly appointed US
managing director and will be heading
up Faststream’s operations throughout
the Americas. Eric has a strong track
record of success in the recruitment
and staffing sector and we are very
excited by the ideas and energy that
Eric brings with him. We wish him all
the best.
MARK CHARMAN
FASTSTREAM GROUP CEO

3. STREAMLINE
NEWS
WINTER 2013
UPDATE
A FACE TO
THE NAME
The most common complaint
by jobseekers dealing with a
recruitment agency is that it can
be impossible to speak to a
consultant before applying for a
job, or to even discover who is
managing the recruitment for a
particular position.
Stine Martinussen of
Faststream’s Singapore office
presents to attendees of the
Power Logistics Asia 2013
conference at the Marina
Bay Sands, Singapore on 31
October.
Faststream’s maritime recruitment
team has grown substantially in the
last quarter with 16 new consultants
added to the team globally. Warm
welcomes to: India Reynolds, Zac
Rowe, Candy Bird, Tom Harradine,
Matt Brown, Karl Bradford and Ian
Low in the groups UK headquarters.
The Singapore office welcomes Shwe
Myint, Crystine Cham, Emil Anderson,
Vincent Chua and Anna Tan. In
the USA Albert Gil, Emily Burville,
Michael Guerra and Wes Soell have
joined the business. We are always
looking for talented individuals to join
the Faststream Group as specialist
recruiters.
If you are interested in finding out
more about working for us please visit
www.faststream.com/work-for-us
This has all changed and now all
jobs advertised on Faststream’s
website are now accompanied
by the consultant’s full contacts
details, including direct dial,
email, LinkedIn profile and photo.
We’re delighted to announce
the promotion of both
Jason Tay (above) and Matt
Conway (below) to directors
of Faststream’s Singapore
operation. Matt and Jason
previously served as managers
of Faststream’s Asia Marine and
Shipping divisions respectively.
Faststream are looking forward to
further expansion in Houston with a
new, larger office premises in the city’s
energy corridor and a recruitment drive
which will see further personnel added
to the business. Find out more about
Faststream’s developments in Houston
in the next edition of Streamline.
3

4. STREAMLINE
FOCUS
TOP LEVEL HIRES SIGNPOST
WAY TO RECOVERY?
If the requirement for new top management
teams can be taken as a positive sign that the
shipping industry is improving, then we should all
take comfort from the volume of top level moves
currently happening in the marketplace.
4

5. WINTER 2013
The search is underway for
the next generation of leaders of
maritime businesses to capitalise
on the resurgent shipping markets.
Faststream’s executive search division
has been taking more calls than ever
before from company chairmen keen
to ensure that their firms are best
positioned to take advantage of the
upswing and that their management
teams are fit for purpose. Companies
are looking for people who have
proven experience in optimisation and
improving businesses. But why now?
Companies in the maritime sector
have faced a tough five years.
Poor freight rates, charterparty
defaults and renegotiations, headcount
reductions and increased operating
costs have all taken their toll on many
shipping businesses. But sentiment
in a range of markets seems to be on
the rise and this has been reflected
in a requirement for senior hires.
There are essentially four key
reasons behind this.
EASTWARD SHIFT
Firstly there is the impact of the
shifting eastwards of the shipping
industry. The rise of Singapore, Hong
Kong and Shanghai, as ever more
European companies expand here,
has had a huge impact on leadership
teams. Change to organisational
structures brings with it change in
personnel. In the early 2000s a wave
of ex-pats from the West headed east
to build their careers in Singapore
and Hong Kong. Some of these are
now returning, perhaps taking a step
backwards with salaries, but now in
their 40s or 50s are making the choice
to return home. On the other hand
there are plenty of experienced people
excited by the prospects in the region
and looking to relocate in the East.
The second driver has been the
entrance of private equity firms into
the maritime space. Private equity
firms typically have a shorter timeframe than traditional investors and
are looking for a management team to
deliver change and results within
a three to five year timeframe.
SENTIMENT
IN A RANGE
OF MARKETS
SEEMS TO BE
ON THE RISE
Many of the private equity firms view
the shipping industry as one which
can potentially deliver solid profits,
but recognise that they don’t have
the expertise in-house to conduct
due diligence or to oversee these
investments. These companies are
looking for people with not only indepth shipping industry experience,
but also a broader macro-economic
perspective. Private equity firms don’t
buy the idea that a technical shipping
person is always the best person to
run the company.
The third reason for much of the
activity is the rapid growth in the
LNG sector. This is a sector which is
receiving a huge amount of attention
and investment. As China builds more
gas-fired power stations and transport
fleets begin adopting the fuel, the
International Energy Agency forecasts
that global gas consumption will rise
50% from 2010 levels by 2035. But
the LNG transportation sector also has
a big shortage of experienced people.
Finally, people do move and people
retire creating new holes to be filled.
But in an upturn, there is pent up
demand as people that have perhaps
been dissatisfied for a while decide
that it is finally time to go. Further
opportunities become open to them
and their departure creates a new
vacancy.
However, it should be noted that
the growth in top level hires has not
been driven by salary rises. Salaries
at the top remain stable, but there are
very few norms making it difficult to
benchmark salary levels.
But it is not easy to find senior
leaders for the shipping industry.
There is plenty of technical expertise,
but much less business acumen
available. All too often the leadership
style of many maritime businesses
is one which would not be tolerated
in many other sectors. Running a
company is not the same as running
a ship and shipping companies are
often reluctant to hire leaders who
have not been to sea. Companies all
too often hire for an individual’s skills
and knowledge rather than attitude,
forgetting that you can learn the skills
but not the attitude.
Unfortunately a surprising number
of otherwise very talented individuals
do not manage their own careers as
well they might, making questionable
moves. Some apply for lots of jobs,
thus devaluing their own value in the
marketplace.
We advise executives to limit their
applications to a select few and to
view each move as a stepping stone
to progress their careers.
5

6. STREAMLINE
FOCUS
LOCAL HIRES
RULE
With a precarious recovery potentially
underway, companies are still taking a
cautious attitude towards commercial
hires in the key shipping centres.
6

7. WINTER 2013
Understandably many companies are dealing
with increased business requirements through
existing staff and not taking a long term view in
the way that the technical departments need to.
When companies do hire for commercial
shipping staff, they will hire the best fit for the job,
hoping that the best fit is local. If the local person
doesn’t have the skills and experience to fit the
role, they will have to look to elsewhere.
It is always important to identify local talent early
on, and then provide the mentoring, training,
and support to keep those employees happy.
Governments around the world are of
course keen for companies to hire locals,
but public pressure in Singapore to curb the
country’s liberal immigration policies, has led to
a slew of measures to limit the influx of foreign
workers in the past year, including lowering the
foreign manpower dependency ratio for the
manufacturing and services sectors as well as
steep increases in the monthly levy paid for hiring
overseas employees.
SINGAPORE CLAMPDOWN
Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower has
announced measures that firms with more
than 25 employees must advertise vacancies
for jobs paying less than 12,000 Singapore
dollars ($9,574) a month on a new jobs bank
administered by the Singapore Workforce
Development Agency for at least 14 days before
applying for an employment pass to bring in a
foreign national. The rule comes into effect in
August 2014.
There has already been a push towards
localisation in Singapore for a number of years
with a position at a Singapore based firm no
longer seen as an ex-pat position. Ex-pats
receive higher pay and benefits such as private
schooling, accommodation and free flights to
ensure that their quality of life is on a par with
that which was left behind. But Singapore today
cannot be seen as a hardship post. There is now
a move afoot for companies to ensure that their
senior ex-pats are not on huge salaries and are
slowly seeing their packages equalised with local
rates. There is certainly now a talent pool of expats in Singapore willing to work on local terms.
IT IS ALWAYS
IMPORTANT TO
IDENTIFY LOCAL
TALENT EARLY ON
One Singapore based employer which has
seen a change in profile of its employees is
LOC. The international marine and engineering
consultancy employs 45 naval architects as
well as ex-master mariners and engineers in
Singapore and has a growing network of offices
across the region.
LOC Singapore’s managing director Nick
Haslam notes that Singapore is now producing
high quality graduates from its own university’s
naval architectural degree programmes. These
programmes were launched around five years
ago. However, finding candidates with five to
ten years of experience is much trickier and also
keeping good Singaporean employees for more
than two years can be a challenge.
“Singapore enjoys virtually full employment
and many Singaporeans leave after around two
years when they are made a higher offer by
another employer.“ Nick Haslam also notes that
whilst naval architects and structural engineers
are relatively easy to find, finding master mariners
and engineers in Singapore is more
of a challenge.
LOC Singapore is about to launch its own
three year graduate programme which will take
on one or two local graduates and train them
across LOC’s Asian network of offices.
Whether or not other international companies
that make up Singapore’s thriving maritime sector
make a concerted effort to develop a local talent
pipeline remains to be seen. However, whilst it
generally makes sense for companies to hire from
the communities that they operate in, generally
speaking there are not enough Singaporeans
with sufficient maritime skills to make up the
numbers in the short term.
7

8. STREAMLINE
FOCUS
GERMANY, THE
NETHERLANDS, UK,
DENMARK AND NORWAY
ALL REMAIN CANDIDATE
SHORT MARKETS
8

9. GROWING
CANDIDATE
CONFIDENCE
WINTER 2013
A key driver for any employment
market is the confidence of candidates
to leave a stable job and take a new
position elsewhere.
In recent years, thanks to poor
housing markets and negative
economic headlines in every
newspaper, many candidates have
understandably felt rather unwilling
to leave a stable job and take a step
into the unknown. But this seems to
be changing, particularly amongst UK
based maritime service providers.
Danielle Devine, marine manager at
Faststream UK puts the movement in
the job market down to a number of
key reasons.
“Firstly the hiring freezes which
were put in place a few years ago
have now been lifted which has led
to a surge of openings entering back
into the marketplace. We’re seeing
more people being tempted into the
oil and gas sector, on the most part
due to financial reward. There is also
a general feeling of confidence by
candidates about a career move and
where there was once just two sets of
candidate types ‘active’ and ‘passive’
we’re now seeing a combination of
the two, namely the ‘passive active’.
These candidates are looking at their
career closely, are open to discussing
potential opportunities and will be
looking at improving company fortunes
as an indicator of where they may
choose for their next move.”
Germany, the Netherlands, UK,
Denmark and Norway all remain
candidate short markets and P&I
clubs, class societies, designers,
yards and engineering consultants
are taking on good quality candidates.
What differs from the 2005-2008
expansion period is that the focus is
not on taking people without the full
experience and training them into their
roles, but rather taking on people with
the right experience. Companies are
also taking a careful look at who they
already have within their offices and
nurturing this talent. The lure of the
lucrative pay and exciting opportunities
in the oil and gas sector is not
something which has gone unnoticed
within maritime companies, and is not
likely to go away anytime soon.
STARTING OUT?
For those starting their careers
in the commercial maritime sector
or moving ashore for the first time,
there are opportunities available.
Professor Nikos Nomikos teaches
the London based Cass Business
School’s Shipping, Trade & Finance
MSc programme and notes that the
majority of graduates from the course
are landing a job within a couple of
months.
However, he does sound a note of
caution: “Overall there is definitely a
market, but we advise our students to
be flexible in their expectations, both in
terms of salary as well as job type.”
The Shipping, Trade & Finance
programme takes on around 90
students a year, who are generally
either aged 23/24 with a good
academic background or those in
their late twenties who are coming
ashore and looking to enter into the
commercial shipping sector.
9

10. STREAMLINE
FEATURE
CONTR
WAY OU
THE INDEPENDENT
CONTRACTOR CAN MAKE
HIS OWN HOURS, DECIDE
WHEN TO WORK AND
WHO TO WORK FOR.
10

11. WINTER 2013
RACTING OFFERS
UT OF RECESSION
Faststream’s new managing director of its
American operation believes that maritime
recovery in the USA will be underpinned by
a new way of flexible working.
Louisianan Eric Peters has taken
up the reins at Faststream USA
having worked in a range of senior
levels positions in the staffing industry
including Robert Half International,
one of the world’s leading staffing
specialists. He held the position of Vice
President North America for Robert
Half Management Resources with
responsibility for a $500million revenue
stream. He says that independent
contract work is something which will
become an increasingly important
feature of the US maritime sector.
“It’s a very flexible model which
offers significant upsides for both
employers and employees,” he notes.
“There’s a huge labor pool of maritime
and offshore experts who are perhaps
at the tail-end of their careers and
have the necessary experience. There
are also plenty of others who like the
variety and get bored working for the
same company year in and year out.
For anyone who just wants to get
down to the job and not get involved
in office politics, this can be very
suitable.”
An independent contractor is a
person who contracts to perform
services for others without having the
legal status of an employee. Up until
recently maritime industry employees
would not necessarily have seen
themselves as professionals with their
own “practices” in the same ways
as perhaps a graphic designer or
accountant might. However, in a very
skill short and often highly technical
sector such as shipping, the role for
independent contractors is very clear.
A typical contractor or project
worker in the maritime sector can
expect to work for two or three
different companies each year. This
is not just for roles at sea or on rigs,
but for a huge range of professional
shore-side positions. Faststream
provides the payroll, insurance and
contract services to the client, whilst
the candidates can use the service to
work in a variety of roles throughout
the year. Faststream will be building
on its Houston presence to deliver this
service. The Houston/Galveston area
is home to a large number of maritime
firms including many shipowners,
charterers, P&I clubs, offshore oil and
gas contractors as well as being the
USA’s second busiest port.
The independent contractor can
make his own hours, decide when to
work and who to work for. They do
not depend on the success of any
single business to produce an income.
According to the Wall Street Journal,
independent contractors earn between
20 and 40% more per hour than
permanent employees. Contractors
do not receive benefits from clients;
the higher pay is meant to make up
for this. Rather than having taxes taken
out each pay period, independent
contractors pay quarterly taxes,
allowing them to hold onto their
cash longer.
Eric Peters certainly has a track
record in delivering success for both
small start-ups and larger businesses
and believes that Faststream is well
positioned to build on its presence in
the USA and to expand its operations
in the wider region. Canada and South
America will also be on his business
development radar as Faststream
provides an increasingly global service
to its wide client base.
11

12. STREAMLINE
FOCUS
SEAFARER
SURGE
Seafarers are usually the last to
benefit from any improvement
in a company’s financial
prospects. The response to
the shipping downturn has
been the introduction of salary
caps, redundancies and a
general focus on cost-cutting
measures by managers.
12

13. WINTER 2013
But with the shore-side sector
reporting the beginnings of growth,
what has been the impact on seafarers
this year? The demand for seafarers in
the offshore, cruise and LNG sectors
is rising is the message coming from
many of Faststream’s clients.
According to Adam Graves,
manager of Faststream’s UK based
seagoing division, clients are taking
a longer term view of seafarer
employment and asking themselves
whether or not their seafarers will be
able to be the senior shore based staff
of the future. This has led to more
opportunities opening up for both
experienced and junior officers. And
for many northern European employers
this has meant a greater focus on the
more expensive northern European
seafarers.
Employers can afford to be very
choosy about who they employ
and are looking for the top 10%
candidates.
Adam Graves says: “Many
companies are growing and realising
that they need to make long term
plans. However, they are really looking
for the leaders of the future and not
just someone to quickly fill a position.
From the seafarers’ point of view, it’s
not just about the money. They want
good sea to shore links, stable crew
changes and good career prospects.
Salaries come a close second.”
This has led to companies taking
a more sophisticated approach to
seafarer hires. Rather than viewed
as a short term, panic purchase,
employers are now taking a more
pro-active approach to hires. This
has seen Faststream partner up with
a range of clients to both attract and
screen candidates in a way which was
previously only seen for shore-side
positions. The sorts of candidates
most in demand are typically not
actually seeking a new position,
requiring a targeted and sophisticated
approach from employers.
This more sophisticated and
professional approach to the
employment of seafarers has of
course been hugely improved with
the arrival of the Maritime Labour
Convention earlier this year. It is
not only shipmanagers who have
been impacted by the legislation,
but also recruiters. Faststream has
been audited by the UK’s Maritime
& Coastguard Agency (MCA) and
is MLC compliant, rubberstamping
practices which have been in place at
Faststream for many years.
A MORE
SOPHISTICATED
APPROACH TO
SEAFARER HIRES
MLC IMPACTS RECRUITERS TOO
Under MLC recruiters are required
to provide contract workers with
an assurance that they will cover
repatriation costs and loss of earnings
for two months in the event that a
client goes out of business. It also
means that all contracts supplied to
seafarers contain clauses covering the
client’s MLC compliance, flag of vessel,
access to repatriation, trip length,
payment intervals, health and safety,
risk and preventative measures. It is
Faststream’s duty to ensure that the
seafarers have read and understood
these contracts.
However to date, much of
Faststream’s focus has been on
European seafarers who had already
been enjoying decent living and
working conditions aboard ships. The
creation of a level playing field for the
world’s 1.2m seafarers is really having
an impact on those who had previously
been allowed to work in conditions
that would not have been deemed
acceptable by today’s standards.
Seafarers are now better informed
than ever before as to their rights and
less prepared to accept poor working
conditions.
The superyacht sector, although not
associated with the exploitation of its
workers, is feeling the impact of MLC.
Many in the industry are concerned
that the MLC is a set of regulations
designed for the commercial sector
and pinned on the superyacht sector,
especially with regards to crew
accommodation and single berths.
From a recruitment point of view, the
MLC has forced the less professional
employment agencies to raise their
game and bring in practices found in
other areas of the industry. There are
around 4000 commercially registered
yachts of 40m plus requiring a crew
of between 10 and 15 and demand
for these crews remains strong. A
professionalisation of superyacht
recruitment will make the sector more
attractive to commercial seafarers.
The growth in seafarer demand
from the offshore sector is one which
has been recognised by seafarers
and Faststream is seeing more
applications from candidates already
in employment. There has also been a
surge in candidates investing in training
on their own account to help secure a
position in the offshore sector. Whether
it is an offshore survival or dynamic
positioning course, many candidates
are taking steps to transfer across to
the booming offshore sector.
But Adam Graves wonders if these
candidates have left this too late.
“I would advise seafarers looking
for opportunities in a new part of
the industry to have a careful look
at the LNG or cruise market.”
Please support the Sailors’ Society
Typhoon Haiyan Relief Appeal by
donating via http://www.justgiving.
com/sailors-society
13

14. STREAMLINE
FOCUS
HOW TO
ATTRACT
THE RIGHT
CANDIDATES
CASE STUDY – NORTHERN
MARINE MANAGEMENT
Why are some companies more successful at
attracting high calibre candidates than others
despite being based in the same area, being of a
similar pedigree and offering similar salaries and
working conditions?
14

15. WINTER 2013
Quite simply, it is down to candidates’
perceptions of the company and the way in
which the company projects its brand.
Glasgow based Northern Marine
Management, the ship management arm of the
Stena Group, was one such company which
wanted to understand how it was perceived
by potential recruits and to raise its status in
the eyes of these candidates. Faststream was
commissioned to undertake research and advise
on a profile raising strategy for Northern Marine
Management.
The first step was
to understand what
potential employees
thought of the company.
Telephone research
was undertaken by
Faststream. Many
candidates outside of Glasgow were simply
unaware of the company, and those that had
heard of Northern Marine Management thought
that it just managed Stena ferries. In fact the
company manages 75 vessels across a range
of asset class, two thirds of which are not even
part of the Stena fleet. It has growth plans which
will see up to 15 new vessels and three new ship
groups created by the end of 2014.
WE ADVISE
CLIENTS TO TELL
A STRONG STORY
MISPERCEPTIONS
There was little understanding of the
company’s career structure, history and stability
of the company. Northern Marine Management
is a well established company with a 30 year
pedigree that has never really felt the need to
market itself to win new business. It has enjoyed
growth and runs an extremely professional and
highly regarded business. However, by not
paying attention to marketing, the company has
a low profile amongst potential shore-based
technical staff.
Faststream then spent time with a range of
Northern Marine Management employees to
understand their view of the company. The
employee research interviews allowed a reallife insight into working for Northern Marine
Management and to build a more realistic view
of employee feelings towards the business.
Faststream project manager Matt Devine
says: “We wanted to understand why the
employees had chosen to come ashore;
what had attracted them to Northern Marine
Management; how their perceptions of the
company had changed since working there;
whether or not they felt that their careers had
progressed since joining and whether or not
they would recommend Northern Marine as
an employer. At the same time we interviewed
senior management to understand what they
wanted to achieve with the business.”
The research enabled Faststream to develop
an employer brand which focuses on the issues
which really matter to potential candidates
and plays to Northern Marine Management’s
strengths. Centred on the slogan “Your future.
Our future”, the new campaign will focus on
the size of the fleet, how people are valued by
the company, Northern Marine Management’s
financial stability, the high levels of staff
satisfaction, the company’s great facilities which
include a gym as well as the opportunities for
professional growth.
Matt Devine says: “We advise clients to tell
a strong story. What is it about your company
which is going to attract the best employees?
Think about how outsiders perceive your
company and make sure that your key selling
points as an employer are highlighted on all
your corporate material and easily found on
your website.”
The new look Northern Marine Management
campaign kicks off in 2014 and will involve
printed and online advertising, social media, a
careers section on the company website and
changes to the way in which job descriptions
are written.
15

16. UK Headquarters
The Quay
30 Channel Way
Ocean Village
Southampton SO14 3TG
Tel:+44 (0) 23 8033 4444
Email: info-uk@faststream.com
@faststream
ASIA - Pacific
Faststream Recruitment Pte Ltd
10 Hoe Chiang Road
#08-01 Keppel Towers
Singapore 089315
Tel: +(65) 653 27 201
Email: info-sg@faststream.com
@faststream
Fort Lauderdale
100 NE Third Avenue
Suite 605
Fort Lauderdale
Florida
33301
Tel:(+1) 954 467 9611
Email: info-us@faststream.com
@faststreamUSA
Houston
One Riverway
Suite 1710
Houston
Texas 77056
Tel: +(1) 713 396 7288
Email: info-us@faststream.com
@faststreamUSA
STREAMLINE
www.faststream.com