Lack of crew hinders development of Yangtze waterway

Navigating the Yangtze River was once considered an appealing career for adventurous young mariners, offering a chance to travel one of the world's largest commercial waterways while seeing China.

Now, it's the "worst choice" for young job-seekers, with uncompetitive wages, long hours and hard work says Chen Shaoyuan, captain of the Yangtze river cargo boat "An Xiang".

"I love ships. I have been working as a crew member for more than 20 years. I have gotten used to this dreary life," Chen said, explaining why he has not quit the job despite the low pay as he pokes at a frugal lunch of rice and boiled radish on the ship's swaying deck.

Besides sailing the boat, Chen also has to cook for himself and three other crew members, as well as help unload cargo. They go ashore once a week and the only entertainment they have on the river is listening to the radio.

"A crew member gets 2,000 to 3,000 yuan (327 to 490 U.S. dollars) a month and eat meat only once or twice a week. Young people won't come if they have any other options," Chen said.

The undesirable nature of the job, resulting in a shortage of river workers, presents a grave challenge for China's ambition to develop a new economic belt along the Yangtze River by further exploiting the "golden waterway".

A State Council guideline released in late September set enhancing the traffic capacity of the river, one of the busiest inland rivers for freight traffic worldwide, as a top-priority task.

With the government vigorously pushing forward development along the river, shipments in the Yangtze's upper and middle areas are expected to surge over the next few years, said He Shengping, president of the shipping exchange of Chongqing, one of the most important shipping centers in the upper reaches.

"The labor shortage will become more acute by then."

In recent years, China's shipping industry yields have seen decline due to pressure from the country's economic slowdown and excess capacity in the market. Stagnant growth has made most companies reluctant to offer competitive wages.

In Chongqing, an auto mechanic can earn as much as 6,000 yuan a month, nearly doubling that of a ship maintenance worker.p A survey conducted by He's exchange showed in 2013, 63 percent of shipping companies in Chongqing said a lack of ship workers was major barrier for expanding operations.

"We couldn't find local workers, so we went to less developed areas, such as Guizhou and Yunnan provinces," said Du Yongchun, deputy general manager of Chongqing Chuanjiang Shipping Co., Ltd.

Another company in the city recruited more than 100 crew members in 2012, 70 percent of whom had left within a year, according to an executive who declined to be named.

He Shengping suggests the companies use better foresight to woo workers with a more sensible remuneration system.

Employers should also care for the crew's mental health since the job requires a long time away from their families and there is a lack of communication methods onboard the ships, said Chen Shupei, head of a Chongqing cruise ship company.

The 6,300-km Yangtze River is the world's third largest in terms of length and water volume. It joins less developed inland provinces to prosperous coastal provinces.

In his report to the annual session of the National People's Congress in March, Premier Li Keqiang said the waterway development could balance regional growth and encourage businesses to relocate from crowded coastal areas to less developed inland areas.