New platform cracks down on rogue crewing agents exploiting seafarers

(Posted on 15/07/25)

A new recruitment feature has launched to help dismantle the shadow network of rogue crewing agents exploiting seafarers through illegal fees and fake job offers.

CareerHub, now live on The Hood Platform, connects verified seafarers only with licensed and MLC-compliant employers. It removes the backdoor access that has allowed unlicensed recruiters to prey on jobseekers, often with impunity.

The launch comes amid growing scrutiny of illegal recruitment practices in the maritime industry. A 2024 investigation by TradeWinds and the Institute for Human Rights and Business found that nearly two-thirds of seafarers had been charged illegal placement fees. Many paid months’ worth of wages to unregulated agents, often without receiving a contract in return.

“These are not just unethical practices. They are illegal. Yet they persist,” said Josephine Le, Founder and Managing Director of The Hood. “Cadets are particularly at risk. They are promised a future at sea but are forced to pay for access to a job that may never materialise.”

CareerHub is designed to cut out the middlemen fuelling this black market. Only authorised and verified companies can post vacancies. Each job is traceable to a named company user. Seafarers receive real-time updates on their application status, reducing the space for manipulation or ghosting. These are tactics frequently used to string applicants along while extorting them.

It enables shipowners and charters to save money otherwise spent seeking out and recruiting seafarers, allowing them to communicate directly and safely in one interface.

The platform also empowers seafarers to flag suspicious activity. Any recruiter found breaching platform rules or operating outside the law risks being permanently removed.

Ms Le added: “These recruitment scams are one of the industry’s worst kept secrets. They thrive in silence and informality. The only way to end them is through transparency, accountability and zero tolerance.”

As the maritime sector faces mounting pressure to improve welfare standards, CareerHub offers an alternative to the murky world of social media job listings and WhatsApp scams. It gives seafarers, especially those from low-income backgrounds, a safer and fairer way into the profession.

“If we want the next generation to choose maritime, we have to stop treating the entry point as a free for,” said Ms Le. “Exploitation should never be the price of employment."