How long the downturn in shipping industry will last?

World economy is in recession. It is the start, none knows where is the end. Recession is an unavoidable phenomena of economy. It has happened in the past, happening and will happen in futures. How strong the policies and monitoring, I doubt if the cycle of recession can be prevented at all. 

Shipping industry has not bee spared from recession. Ship owners, ship builders and all association with shipping industry has started feeling the pinch. Rapid downturn of oil price last July 2008 predicted that probably shipping industry will be most benefited, but it did not. Charter hire went down faster than oil price leaving ship owners in dilemma.

Hellenic Shipping News published a featured item with heading "Cheap Oil May not be a Christmas Gift for Shipping Industry" and under the circumstance it seems to be the bitter truth and unwanted reality. In the same newsletter other scaring news headers are "Ship freight rate falls by 40%" and " Ship owners scrambles to cancel new orders".

So the near future images of the shipping industry is not very bright, at least for next few years. It is bad news for seafarers. Last few years there was great demand for seafarers and, in fact owners and ship managers were scrambling to get good officers and breaking their heads to find means to retain them for long time. In the process salaries of seagoing officers and engineers skyrocketed comparing other industries. Now probably downside of the graph will commence. It is time that seafarers should plan there futures when the market demand will be not like what it was.