Call for Germany to Implement National Maritime Service to Grow Seafaring
Faced with the same challenges that many nations are facing of a dwindling national merchant marine, the German Shipowners’ Association (Verband Deutscher Reeder - VDR) is proposing a novel approach to continue the recent trend it has seen in the growth in the number of young people joining the seafaring profession. During its annual event in Hamburg, the association proposed making sea service in the merchant marine an option in voluntary military service and as an alternative should Germany reinstate compulsory military service in the future.
“The Iran war demonstrates how closely geopolitical conflicts and global supply chains are intertwined,” said VDR President Gaby Bornheim. “Around two-thirds of our foreign trade is conducted by sea. For an export nation like Germany, the protection of merchant shipping is therefore of strategic importance.”
VDR reports that more young people are joining the profession, with enrollment numbers at their highest levels in more than a decade. Since 2023, VDR reports the number of recruits at sea has risen from 418 to 537. It is an increase of almost 30 percent, and the highest figure since 2012. It highlights that this includes the nautical and technical officer career paths, as well as the training to become a ship engineer.
They note that the increase in the number of young seafarers is critical to maintaining and growing the German merchant marine. Germany, VDR calculates, has 1,716 ships in its registry, representing 46.7 million gross tons. It reports that Germany has the seventh-largest merchant marine, trailing behind countries including China and Greece. In container shipping alone, they point out that Germany has 30.4 million gross tons and has surpassed China to be the second largest country. Switzerland (home to MSC Mediterranean Shipping) is the largest, with 41.2 million gross tons.
Martin Kröger, Managing Director of the VDR, adds, “In the long term, we need an even larger national personnel base. In a real crisis, we mustn’t be caught off guard, but rather be prepared.”
VDR is proposing making sea service in the merchant shipping industry available as part of the new military service. It says the aim is to establish a civilian maritime reserve whose members can contribute to maintaining maritime supply in emergencies after their service, as well as providing an entry point into the shipping industry. They note that the trainees would gain practical experience on board and acquire training qualifications that could be credited towards later vocational training.
“Sea service would be a civilian option within the framework of military service and would simultaneously help to further develop maritime expertise, which is indispensable for Germany's supply and maritime transport,” urges VDR.
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The association notes that until military conscription was suspended in 2011, active seafarers could be deferred from military service based on the essential nature of their work. VDR proposes that if compulsory military service were to be reinstated in the future, sea service could be performed as a civilian alternative in the merchant marine.
It is a unique approach while other countries look at different means of enhancing their merchant marine. Australia has proposed a government program to build a national fleet, while the Trump administration proposed a broad plan to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding and the merchantmarine,e in part by taxing foreign ships and requiring a portion of U.S. goods to travel on American-flag ships. The plan also calls for an investment in training programs. Japan, on the other hand, is pushing forward with autonomous shipping for its domestic shipping operations to address its aging and declining population of seafarers.