Seafarer Economics

Many of the seafarers whom we meet come from the nations and islands of the Pacific Rim, Asia, Africa, and the former Soviet Union. Some come from the maritime provinces of Canada and other cultures with a tradition of going to sea. South America and the Caribbean also provide many of the crew who staff the ships calling in the ports of New England. They sign contracts to work 6-12 months often at a monthly wage of about $1,200, food, cabin, and an airline ticket. Certain jobs pay more, others less.

The number to watch is the home-nation's per captia GDP (the value of their national economy divided by every man, woman, and child). The second number to look at is the gini-index, which shows how evenly that number gets distributed accross the population. At NESM, we refer to the CIA's World Factbook, available online or as a download for your personal computer. For instance, a Philippino making $12,000 per year earns over four times the per capita GDP of his home economy. An American would be working at about 36% of his or her home economy.

A casino worker who comes from East Timor making $12,000 on a cruise ship ($500 per cap. GDP in East Timor) would earn 24 times her home GDP. And she could make much more with tips.

These are hard jobs, sometimes dangerous jobs, always lonely jobs, but for the men and women whom we serve, these are really great jobs which enable them to take care of their families, send their children to school (in the Philippines, public education ends with 8th-Grade), and to care for elderly parents and younger sibblings. They take these jobs to break the cycle of poverty for their families. These are noble people, and at NESM, we give them the respect which they deserve but often lack on ship.

Few of these seafarers would sail if given other viable choices.