All of them think that work at sea is very well paid. This is not true. Especially after the fall in oil prices. Now it's hard to find a job even for those seamans who have good experience in offshore. The competition is crazy, they pay a penny even for top vacancies. Take a look at the MassCV job site (http://masscv.com/job-at-sea/seaman-vacancy-marine-jobs-for-seafarers-maritime-jobsite) and sing it all yourself. Moreover, some companies stopped paying for the flight. And it seems to me that it will become norm soon.
 

It's a buyer's market at the moment - too many workers, not enough jobs, so no doubt about it, employers are going to use the opportunity to trim their costs where they can without fear of struggling to recruit, and where is easier to cut than soft costs? As you say, this is becoming the new norm - as demand for staff grows again, T&Cs will not revert back to their former values.

 

I also see an increasing push for "In Country Value" and the preference for hiring local staff over expats. Maybe bad in the short term, but if the skills are not there to begin with, longer term opportunities will reveal themselves. 

If the OP has a Seaman's Card, he can qualify for the heavily discounted seaman's airfares (full economy with increased baggage allowance) direct from airlines. Same discounts that his employers were probably making money on before the slump.

On 7/15/2017 at 12:38 PM, RuamRudy said:

I also see an increasing push for "In Country Value" and the preference for hiring local staff over expats. Maybe bad in the short term, but if the skills are not there to begin with, longer term opportunities will reveal themselves. 

Also see the growth of hiring expats locally but paying them the same wages as the locals.

As a contractor, I was payed my day-rate door-to-door.

Now, not paid for any travel days whatsoever.