Shipmen and other professionals in the shipping industry are in great demand. Both Xie and Gao should both receive a monthly salary of at least US$1,000 during their first year's internship, which is much more than the average Chinese college graduate can expect to earn right out of college.

"The city has really speeded up the development of its shipping industry. But we have not expanded our student base or the size of our faculty. The gap between supply and demand in shipping talent is widening," said Liu Yan, deputy director of the Student's Affair Office at the SMU.

She added that the high cost of educating qualified shipping professionals would make it difficult for her school to expand.

Tang Yichi, a senior HR manager at Shanghai Yuanyang Shipping Company, which is part of COSCO, one of the country's leading shipping and logistics companies, said he had noticed the demand for talent in the shipping sector.

"A lot of shipmen and engineers leave their jobs because of the hardships associated with working on a ship, and the number of new graduates with maritime majors is not enough to meet our growing demand," he told China Daily. "This labour shortage will probably continue for some time."

"Shipping companies now have to compete to find qualified professionals. Competition has become especially intense among small-sized shipping businesses," he added.

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