What’s Inside This Edition?
How Did the Year Go for Maritime Hiring in 2025?
What Can We Expect for Maritime Hiring in 2026?
How Did the Year Go for Maritime Hiring in 2025?
2025 wasn’t calm waters for maritime: think mixed currents, new technical waves, and talent drifting across geographies.
1. Freight markets softened → fewer commercial roles
As Brijesh shared, chartering and freight rates dropped across multiple segments, and that translated into fewer commercial and chartering opportunities compared to previous years.
Companies tightened commercial hiring, watched their cost structures closely, and focused on stability rather than expansion.
2. But technical hiring surged, especially in dual-fuel expertise
Where commercial slowed, technical roles accelerated. A wave of new vessels entered the market, many equipped with dual-fuel engines: methanol, LNG, LPG, X-TF, ammonia.
This created high demand for:
technical superintendents
dual-fuel engine specialists
fleet performance roles
decarbonisation and new-fuel capability
This shift kept the market highly active on the technical side.
3. Decarbonisation pushed companies to look globally for niche skills
Climate and regulatory pressures meant companies needed people with fuel transition, ESG, and performance optimisation expertise.
Brijesh mentioned that Caliber8 had to source talent globally because the skills required weren’t always present locally.
4. Companies consolidated, and some moved roles out of Singapore
A big trend in 2025 was consolidation. Ship management companies reviewed cost bases, resulting in some functions moving out of Singapore to more cost-competitive markets.
Reasons included:
cost optimisation
ease of local hiring abroad
long-term family considerations for expatriate talent
This created fewer mid-senior openings within Singapore across certain functions.
Summary of 2025:
Technical hiring was strong.
Commercial hiring slowed.
Decarbonisation created new specialised roles.
Singapore saw an outflow of some ship management positions due to cost and hiring challenges.
What Can We Expect for Maritime Hiring in 2026?
If 2026 had a trailer, it’d feature three plot points: market movement, cost control, and the countdown to decarbonisation.
1. Commercial hiring depends on freight market recovery
If freight and commodity markets pick up, we’ll see commercial and chartering roles return.
Right now, it’s cautious optimism, but recovery tends to bring hiring back quickly.
2. Technical and dual-fuel demand will continue to rise
The 2030 decarbonisation targets aren’t far.
Companies will keep investing in:
dual-fuel engineering talent
performance optimisation roles
sustainability-linked technical hires
This is one of the most predictable hiring trends for 2026.
3. Cost pressures will keep shaping where companies hire
Companies may continue shifting roles to markets with:
lower hiring costs
easier visa or mobility policies
stronger long-term family viability
Unless Singapore’s hiring policies ease for niche skills, some technical and ship-management functions are likely to remain offshore.
4. Commercial roles in Singapore could return, if conditions align
Singapore is still a vibrant commercial hub.
If markets stabilise, we should see more:
chartering positions
commercial operations roles
analytics-driven commercial functions
But the pace depends heavily on freight performance.
The Outlook for 2026
2026 won’t be explosive: it will be strategic. Companies will hire niche technical talent, optimise cost structures, and selectively rebuild commercial teams if the market strengthens.
Singapore remains important, but its competitiveness in attracting skilled maritime talent will be under pressure unless hiring regulations evolve.
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