Don’t know why.Now is when we schedule our mariners for 2024 so they know when they will work. On paper, except for summer trainees we select in spring from MMA, and a summer relief cook, we are full in 2024. We have already selected our winter hires. We are sailing two or three mates on 80% of our voyages when legally only 20% of our voyages need two mates.
Can simply be a fluke. May all fall apart in a couple of months. People will quit and others will be hired. But we keep careful track of hiring stats and something shifted to the positive mid-year. I’m knocking on wood…
On the other hand, it has been a rough year for relief cooks. Hired some marvelous ones. Hired some villains too…