Shipping recruiter Faststream warns that shipowners taking part in the LNG vessel order spree could face serious difficulties in finding experienced superintendents to run these vessels in the coming months and years, particularly in Europe. The UK-headquartered company says that it has already seen triple the number of vacancies for shore-based technical staff with LNG vessel experience in 2011 compared with the whole of last year. Group CEO Mark Charman said, “With the capacity of the LNG market said to rise from 300 bn cu m to 380 bn cu m by 2015, I believe that shipowners are going to be hard pressed to find the right people to manage these complex vessels.
