While Greek shipping remains a global force on the seas, an interesting shift is taking place within the crews themselves.
The new report by the Seafarers’ Pension Fund (NAT) on maritime employment reflects a quiet but striking shift: women are entering the maritime profession with increasing vigor, with a 77% increase recorded in just six years, while Greek seafarers as a whole are “not aging,” since one in three is under 30 years old.
Signs of renewal and strengthening of the Greek shipping industry’s workforce are documented in the 4th Annual Report of the Maritime Employment Fund, which was presented at a special event at the Eugenides Foundation, in the presence of senior officials from the Ministries of Labor and Maritime Affairs, as well as representatives of the shipping community.
Specifically, the report’s data show that maritime employment in Greece continues its upward trend, with the total number of registered seafarers reaching 26,902 by 2025, representing a 2.6% increase compared to the previous year.
Of particular interest is the age distribution of the Greek seafaring workforce. According to NAT data, 70.4% of registered seafarers are aged 45 or younger, while more than one in three (34.7%) fall into the 18–30 age group. This picture challenges the widespread perception that the seafaring profession struggles to attract young people.
Even more striking are the findings regarding women’s participation in the maritime workforce. The number of female seafarers reached 2,190 this year, an increase of 6.9% compared to 2024, while over the past six years, the increase has reached 77%.
Women now account for 8.1% of the Greek maritime workforce, a figure that far exceeds both the international and European averages. As noted during the report’s presentation, this figure is one of the highest recorded internationally and reflects the gradual shift in the image of a profession traditionally considered male-dominated.
In presenting the report’s key findings, the report’s scientific director, Professor Gabriel Amitsis, noted that this year’s study captures the current profile of human resources in the Greek shipping industry, while also documenting developments at the European and international levels regarding maritime employment.
During the event, Labor Minister Niki Kerameos described human resources as the most important asset of the Greek shipping industry, emphasizing that NAT’s annual reports have now become a key tool for informing policy-making in the field of maritime labor.
For his part, Deputy Minister of Shipping Stefanos Gikas emphasized that in the coming years, dozens of new ships currently under construction in Asian shipyards are expected to join the Greek-owned fleet, a fact that makes the need to strengthen the Greek maritime workforce even more urgent.
The outgoing director of NAT, Georgia Maniati, emphasized that the annual report has now become an established benchmark for the shipping community, helping to highlight the trends and challenges shaping the future of the maritime profession.