Challenges of working onboard ships: an analysis of maritime cadets’ perceptions on their occupational future

The maritime sector faces growing recruitment and retention challenges among young seafarers due to rapid technological change, regulatory pressure, and shifting career expectations. This study examines maritime workforce sustainability by analysing career intentions among 1760 final-year maritime students in Türkiye. The research focuses on students’ motivational sources, the relationship between gender and intended sea career duration, and the extent to which policy and training interventions may influence cadet retention. Using multivariate statistical techniques, including ANOVA, principal component analysis, regression, and cluster analysis, the study investigates how motivation, gender, family maritime background, and educational institution type affect intended career duration at sea. The findings show that declining perceived monetary advantages, social isolation, and negative sea-time internship experiences reduce students’ motivation to pursue long-term seafaring careers. Gender and family background also emerge as significant predictors of intended career duration. The strongest predictor of long-term commitment is passion for the maritime profession. The study therefore suggests that maritime education should go beyond technical training by incorporating motivational and career-sustainability-oriented interventions to support longer-term retention in seafaring careers.