Samoa Shipping Services have confirmed new opportunities for seafarers. The announcement comes after a “very tough period” for the Services in the last two and a half years as a result of the pandemic.
This was confirmed in a statement issued yesterday.
“Currently, there are over 300 Samoans employed on international vessels, both cruise and container ships and as of 26th September 2022, a total of 82 additional opportunities have been confirmed.
Samoa Shipping Services General Manager, Lautimuia Afoa Vaai said the SSS has remained resilient and endured many challenges, especially in securing opportunities for seafarers.
“The decrease in employment opportunities due to covid19 has impacted not only our organization but mainly our seafarers and their families.
“Our goal here at SSS is to ensure that we continue to provide employment opportunities for our local seafarers on international vessels.
“We rely heavily on the partnerships we’ve established with our overseas counterparts to stay in business,” said Lautimuia.
In line with Samoa’s reopening of its international borders, has helped Samoa Shipping Services recruit more seafarers and accept opportunities offered by its international partners.
Lautimuia further pointed out there is a high demand for Cruise Ships whereas 73 of the seafarers will be departing soon and the remaining nine will work on Cargo vessels.
He said SSS competes on an international level which makes it challenging.
“We compete with big countries mainly from the Asian region and we want to acknowledge MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) which has been our solid partner for years.
“We continue to serve Samoa through this platform which not only provides employment for graduates from our Maritime school but contributes greatly to the economy of our beloved country.
“We pray and hope that the door of opportunities to continue to open for us, especially with another lot of graduates this coming December,” said Lautimuia
