Myanmar junta restricts maritime work for people over 25

As it takes measures to curb evasion of military conscription, the Myanmar junta has introduced a prohibition—taking effect on July 1—against issuing seafarers’ work permits to people over 25. The ban applies to records and documents necessary for employment on seafaring ships: the seafarer’s registration and the Seafarer Identification and Record Book.According to an employee of a Yangon-based employment agency that specialises in seafaring work, the junta-controlled Department of Marine Administration has been rejecting all applicants over the age of 25 from enrolling in training programmes for seafaring jobs. “Many people change careers and start working on ships for the first time at 28 or 29. A lot of applicants come in without any prior experience,” he told Myanmar Now. “27- or 28-year-olds who are already attending the training will continue because they need to take the English test if they have been issued document books,” he explained. “However, the restrictions apply to all new applicants.” The likely effect of the restrictions will be a decrease in the number of aspiring and trainee seafarers, which will lead in turn to a significantly lower proportion of Myanmar’s workers having maritime jobs. Despite the significant risks inherent in working on a ship, many of Myanmar’s young people are drawn to it by the relatively high incomes typically offered by jobs at sea. According to a directive from the Department of Marine Administration leaked to Khit Thit media, several factors led to the decision, including the number of people applying for seafarers’ documents with the aim of going abroad permanently rather than seeking employment on a ship. Some 69,000 of the 86,000 registered seafarers are currently employed on a ship, while more than 17,000 of the new applicants do not have a maritime job. A junta statement announcing the order claimed that the number of seafaring jobs available is not sufficient to meet demand. The age restriction could negatively impact those who have already invested in plans for securing maritime jobs, said a Yangon-based seafarer who asked that his name be withheld. “Many people are trying to get jobs on vessels. They’ve completed multiple training courses and spent a significant amount of money,” he said. “At the moment, many new applicants have spent money to join shipping lines or are still waiting to be deployed. For anyone who’s over the age limit, all their efforts may now have been in vain,” he said. An official from the Myanmar Seafarers Federation said his organisation had not yet received notice that it was subject to the directive and could not comment on its impact. The official said the directive was only sent to companies and agencies that serve as liaisons between seafarers and the shipping lines employing them. Myanmar Now requested comments on the age restriction from Aung Ye Tun, an assistant secretary and spokesperson of the junta’s ministry of transport and communications, but he has yet to respond. The new age restriction is a break from past practices by the junta and prior Myanmar governments, which have long allowed seafarers to work abroad and in international waters to bring more foreign currency into the domestic economy. Amid significant losses on battlefronts across the country, the military regime has used various tactics to prevent young people eligible for conscription from leaving Myanmar. It has also forced thousands into military training due to the difficulty in recruiting new volunteers. Under the National Conscription Law revived by the military regime in February 2024, men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 are required to serve in the military for a period of two to five years. The law’s implementation has prompted an exodus of Myanmar’s young people, with many seeking any means available to escape military service for the dictatorship.

Myanmar junta restricts maritime work for people over 25

As more people seek work abroad or find other means to escape mandatory military service, the junta has tightened restrictions on permits for employment on foreign ships

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