Crew and people · 5 min read
Crew change economics: the real cost per relief, and how to plan it
Flights are only part of a relief. The full cost stack, the MLC limits that set the timing, and a way to choose the port and the week with the numbers.
Ask a crewing desk what a crew change costs and the first answer is usually the air fare. Ask the operator and the answer is the launch and the half-day deviation. Ask the owner and it is the agency invoice. All three are right, and none of them is the real cost, because nobody adds the lines together before the relief is booked.
This matters more every year. The world fleet needs more certified seafarers than it did five years ago, officers are harder to find, and the people you have are the people you must keep. A relief that runs late, leaves a tired officer on board past their contract or strands someone in a hotel is not only expensive; it is how good officers decide to sail for someone else. This article sets out the rules that fix the timing, the full cost stack, and a way to choose the port and the week with numbers rather than habit.
The labour market behind every relief
The BIMCO and ICS Seafarer Workforce Report, published every five years, came out on 25 June 2026. It estimates 2.57 million seafarers serving a fleet of 85,148 merchant ships. Demand for STCW-certified seafarers has risen 35% since 2021: 23.1% for officers and 46.3% for ratings. Ratings are in surplus, by an estimated 56,890. Officers are not.
The report puts the officer shortfall at 39,100 in 2026, against 26,240 in 2021, and says the industry needs 113,735 additional officers by 2030. For a crewing desk this changes the arithmetic of a relief. An officer who is relieved late, or badly, is an officer at risk of not coming back. Retention is part of the cost of every crew change.
The rules that set the timing
| Rule | What it says | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum service period | Less than 12 months on board before the right to repatriation | MLC Standard A2.5.1 |
| Repatriation cost | Paid by the shipowner, with defined exceptions | MLC Standard A2.5.1 |
| Annual leave | At least 2.5 calendar days per month of employment | MLC Standard A2.4 |
| Financial security | Cover for repatriation and up to four months of outstanding wages if a seafarer is abandoned | MLC Standard A2.5.2 (2014 amendments) |
| Rest hours | 10 hours in any 24 and 77 in any 7 days, including on joining and handover days | MLC Standard A2.3; STCW A-VIII/1 |
The 2020 crew change crisis showed what happens when the timing breaks: at its peak the IMO estimated that around 400,000 seafarers were stranded on ships past their contracts or unable to join them. The rules have not changed since. What changed is that owners, managers and seafarers now watch the contract end date far more closely.
The full cost stack of one relief
No public figure gives an average cost per crew change, and it varies too much by port, rank and nationality for one number to mean much. What can be done is to list every line and price your own. Here is an illustration.
| Cost line | What drives it | Often missed because |
|---|---|---|
| Joining travel | Distance, notice period, route, baggage | Booked late, at walk-up fares |
| Repatriation travel | The same, plus the sign-off date slipping | Booked on a date the ship then misses |
| Visas, letters and permits | Nationality and port; transit visas | Discovered at the airport |
| Medicals and pre-joining checks | Flag and company requirements | Repeated when a relief is postponed |
| Agency fees | Port agent's husbandry and crew-handling charges | Buried in the port's disbursement account |
| Hotel and waiting days | Flight timing against the ship's arrival | The ship's ETA moves; the hotel bill grows |
| Launch or deviation | Anchorage changes, offshore work, no berth | Charged to the voyage, not to crewing |
| Handover overlap | Two people paid for the same job for a day or more | Seen as unavoidable, never measured |
| Training and familiarisation | Company, ship-specific and system familiarisation | Not costed at all |
| The hidden line: retention | An officer relieved late decides not to return | Shows up a year later as a recruitment cost |
The largest lines are often the ones that fall outside the crewing budget: the launch in the voyage account, the agency fees in the port account. That is why a crew change that looks economical to one desk can be the most expensive option for the company.
Choosing the port and the week
Most reliefs have a window, not a date: the weeks between the contract's end and the point where the seafarer would pass the limit. Within that window, the choice of port can move the cost a long way.
Illustration: one relief, two candidate ports, synthetic figures.
| Port A: hub with direct flights, alongside | Port B: remote anchorage, next week | |
|---|---|---|
| Travel, both ways | $3,900 | $5,600 |
| Launch or deviation | $0 | $2,400 |
| Hotel and waiting | $300 | $1,100 |
| Agency fees | $700 | $900 |
| Contract end | 12 days before the limit | 5 days before the limit |
| Risk if the ETA slips | Next port still inside the limit | Seafarer passes the limit |
| Illustrative total | $4,900 | $10,000 |
The hub port wins on cost and on risk, even though it means relieving a week earlier than the contract date. Plans made only on the contract date miss this. Plans made on the whole window find it.
Extension or relief?
Sometimes the lowest-cost option looks like extending a contract to the next convenient port. Check three things first: that the extension keeps the seafarer below the MLC limit with margin for delays; that the seafarer agrees; and that the rest-hour record shows they are not already fatigued. An extension that saves a launch and loses an officer is not a saving.
A planning routine
- Keep a 90-day relief horizon. For every rank on every ship, list the contract end date, the MLC limit and the ports in the window.
- Price each candidate port on the full stack. Include the launch and agency fees, not only the flights.
- Book travel when the port is fixed, not when the contract ends, and keep flexible fares where the ETA is soft.
- Check documents before booking. Visas, transit rules and letters are the most common cause of a failed relief.
- Plan the handover. Arrival day rest hours, a handover checklist and at least one working day together for senior officers.
- Record the actual cost per relief by port and rank, so the next plan starts from real numbers.
What to do Monday
- List every seafarer within 90 days of contract end, with their MLC repatriation limit.
- For each, list the ports in the window and price the top two on the full cost stack.
- Move launches and agency crew fees into the crew change cost, not only the voyage or port account.
- Check visa and transit requirements for every relief booked in the next 30 days.
- Flag any contract extension that leaves less than 30 days' margin to the limit.
- Start recording actual cost per relief by port and rank.
Questions and answers
How long can a seafarer stay on board?
Under MLC Standard A2.5.1 the maximum period of service before a seafarer is entitled to repatriation must be less than 12 months. Contracts and collective agreements often set shorter periods.
Who pays for repatriation?
The shipowner, under MLC Standard A2.5.1, with limited exceptions such as serious default by the seafarer under national rules or agreements.
What does a crew change cost?
There is no reliable public average. The full cost includes travel both ways, visas and medicals, agency fees, hotels, launches or deviation, handover overlap and training. Our illustration comes to $9,700 for one officer at a mid-size port.
How big is the officer shortage?
The BIMCO and ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026 puts the shortfall of STCW-certified officers at 39,100, up from 26,240 in 2021, and says 113,735 additional officers are needed by 2030.
How much annual leave must seafarers get?
At least 2.5 calendar days per month of employment, under MLC Standard A2.4.
Does extending a contract save money?
Sometimes, but only if the seafarer agrees, stays safely inside the MLC limit and is not fatigued. An extension that costs you the officer is the most expensive option. *This article explains; it is not legal advice. Check your flag State's rules and the applicable collective agreement.*
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