Effective recruitment of employees produces results as long as it goes hand in hand with their
retention14). This is very important for the human resources that are employed on board ships, who can be considered as a unique category of employees, taking into account their working and living conditions. Furthermore, as it will be further analyzed in this section, the hard and soft skills, the commitment, the ability to adapt to culturally diverse environments, the ability to cooperate in normal and in emergency situations, are all vital elements for the safe operation of ships. It is crucial for the people that live and work on board ships to possess not only the relevant certificates required by the international legislative framework,
but also the skill of team work that will allow them to operate as crew members. This is even more crucial in cases where on board ships seafarers from different nations and cultures are employed. The role of ship Master as leader of the ship is, in this respect, critical. The ship
Master should be able to adjust to the specific conditions and to motivate and inspire the team members, and not base the ability to lead on hierarchical power. However, it should be taken into account that interpersonal competence among seafarers is weak and that the authoritarian leadership style dominates onboard15). These points will be further examined in the following paragraphs.