Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to table SFR0302 of the UK Seafarer Statistics published on 12 December 2018, what discussions he has had with the Chamber of Shipping on the number of UK (a) Ratings and (b) Certificated Officers recorded as unknown age; and what steps he is taking to improve the quality of the seafarer workforce data provided to his Department.

The figures shown in table SFR0302 of the UK Seafarer Statistics are based on data collected via the annual Chamber of Shipping Manpower survey. During the data collection period, the Department’s statisticians liaise closely with the Chamber of Shipping to ensure the quality and completeness of the data is as high as possible, with a response rate of around 90% of eligible companies achieved in 2018.

Where seafarer age is not recorded, efforts are made to contact the companies to obtain these details. However, where companies are unable or unwilling to share this information with the Department, aggregate data will be accepted so that the total number of seafarers covered is as accurate as possible.

The Department’s statisticians will continue to work closely with the Chamber to seek opportunities to improve the quality of the data collected as part of the 2019 survey, including exploring whether robust estimates of missing data can be made.