Worldwide there is a shortage of 800,000 sailors for merchant ships including cargo ships and passenger liners. With this in mind, the Costa Rican government intends to sign an agreement with Panama to allow Ticos to study at the Panamanian maritime university.

According to the Vice Minister of Transport, María Lorena López, “Panama is willing to give scholarships to countries in Central America because they are unable to supply the requests for 20,000 sailors annually that the shipping lines offer. They are looking for Costa Ricans who are interested in this line of work, to be trained in Panama.”

López emphasized that sailors start at $600 per month and officers make $2000 or more. Costa Rica would earn significant dollar reserves from sailors sending home money.