Drewry Q2 2026 Manning Review: officer shortfall widens at senior gas and tanker ranks

Drewry has published the Q2 2026 update of its Manning Annual Review and Forecast, with the headline figure that the global officer shortfall is on a trajectory from approximately 8.5% of demand today to around 10% by 2030. The BIMCO/ICS Seafarer Workforce Report referenced in the same Drewry note continues to anchor the absolute number at roughly 89,500 officers by end-2026, up from 26,240 in 2021.

The Drewry review's contribution is the rank- and segment-level breakdown. The shortfall is not evenly distributed. According to Q2 2026 data tracked by Drewry and cross-referenced against InterManager wage panels, the squeeze is concentrated at:

• Senior gas-carrier ranks (Master, Chief Officer, Chief Engineer, Second Engineer) with type-rating on membrane or independent-tank containment.
• Senior product- and chemical-tanker ranks with current OCIMF SIRE 2.0 vetting exposure.
• Cadets-to-junior-officer transition across all segments, where the 6-8 year pipeline is not refilling at the rate at which the senior pool is retiring.

By contrast, ratings supply remains broadly in balance at the global level, with localised surpluses in South and Southeast Asia and tightness only in specific nationality-flag combinations driven by visa and BTM constraints.

On wages, Drewry records continued upward pressure at the senior gas and tanker bands, with type-rated Masters and Chief Engineers commanding documented premiums versus the same rank on dry bulk. The review flags that the wage signal is no longer sufficient on its own — owners reporting the fastest time-to-fill are combining wage with rotation length, family-leave terms and documented training pipelines, rather than relying on a single-lever raise.

What it means for owners

• Treat senior gas and senior tanker hiring as a 12-18 month planning horizon, not a fixture-by-fixture exercise — the pool is finite and the competitors are the same five names.
• Pair any wage move with a rotation and training commitment in writing; Q2 2026 retention data shows the single-lever raise is the first thing competitors match.