Should you want to find numbers to illustrate just how efficient, safe or clean ships are, there are libraries of reports you can call on. But start asking awkward questions about the number of deaths at sea and you could be looking for some time.

There should be little surprise, then, that the full impact of the economic downturn on shipping employment remains opaque.

Even working on a national basis, it is almost impossible to accurately gauge how many maritime sector redundancies there have been over the past 18 months. There is no conspiracy of silence here — it is just not in anyone’s interest to collate negative statistics, so they do not do it.

Unions have recently started to record anecdotal evidence of job losses, but the picture remains far from complete. Next month, BIMCO and the International Shipping Federation will start work on its latest industry manpower survey — a task that, with enough industry co-operation, should offer some important answers.

In the meantime, Lloyd’s List is also trying to shine some light into this corner of the industry, and would welcome any relevant information from its readers.

Judging by the cases that have come to our attention, a pattern is emerging of persistent, low-level cuts and lay-offs. Taken individually, these job losses have not unduly rung alarm bells. But the suspicion is that the bigger picture could be much more of a concern, if only we knew what it looked like.