SHIPOWNERS AND MANAGERS HAVE RELIED ON THE PHILIPPINES AS THEWORLD’S LARGEST SUPPLIER OF SEAFARERS TO THE MERCHANT MARINE FLEET FOR MANY YEARS BY BANKING ON THEIR COMPETENCE AND SOME DEGREE OF LOYALTY,

But the current shortage of officers being experienced by the shipping Industry is forcing the Philippines to take an initiative in search of quality if it wants to retain its leading position in the maritime labour market. To achieve this goal the industry has to dig down to the root cause of the problem, which is education. The recent ISF-Bimco study estimated that there is a significant shortage of 10,000 officers. Though the Philippines has a surplus of ratings and junior officers, the shortage of senior officers will act as an incentive for promotion. The question today is how the industry can turn up the surplus of ratings and junior officers to higher ranks, Adonis Donato, the president of Masters and Mates Association of the Philippines, told a recent industry forum. Because of the situation, Donato says some ship management firms have been forced to turn down crew management offers because they cannot provide the senior officers needed
to man new tonnage. “An opportunity lost,” he lamented, revealing that some managers
“have been feeling the pinch” as a consequence. It is estimated that 70,000 Filipino merchant
marine officers are working in deck and engine positions onboard various foreign flagged vessels. With a total deployment of 248,055 seafarers last year, the number of officers has still to catch up with ratings to fill the demand.

Some of the large fleet foreign owners relying on Filipino crewmen include the Japanese and Europeans like the Greeks, Norwegians, Danish, Dutch and Germans. Among them the Japanese, who started the `mixed crewing’ concept in the late 1980s, have remained loyal to employing Filipinos. There are now about 22,000 to 25,000 Filipino seafarers working onboard Japanese controlled vessels. The Norwegians, who have shifted their manning strategy by recruiting East European crews over the last three to four years, currently employ 16,000
Filipino officers and ratings from a previous high of 25,000.

The Danish shipowners fleet under the DIS Register has increased preference for
Filipinos, and is said to have grown to 14,000 from a level of 9,000 three or four years ago.
The Dutch shipowners have shown favour for employing Filipino crew by supporting the
state-run Palompon Institute of Technology through the supply of training equipment
and instructional materials for the school cadets. Dutch shipowners and operators
have also applied to set up a training centre in the Philippines as part of their goal to
take more Filipino officers aboard their fleet.

In terms of fleet, the country’s crewing industry considers Greek shipowners as the biggest employer of Filipino seafarers with an estimate of about 80,000 officers and ratings working
on various types of ships. German owners are slowly taking in Filipino crew members with
a current estimate of about 10,000. The Philippines Register, which is in the process of promotion and expansion to attract more shipowners and managers, is another area that awaits an opportunity in the employment of Filipino seafarers. Under a draft presidential executive order, foreign-owned vessels represented by a ship management company duly accredited by the shipping body Marina, can fly the Philippine flag provided they adhere to the leading requisite that the ships are fully crewed by Filipinos. With 168 ships in its register mostly on
bareboat charter arrangement, Marina hopes the proposed amendments will attract more
foreign vessels and provide employment to Filipinos. Crew managers have suggested
the integration of a package of reforms to the Register such as crew claims, wage cost and competency.

The robust growth in shipbuilding, particularly specialised carriers, has provided a sudden
surge of jobs on offer and renewed prospect for the manning industry. Ship management and crewing agencies are starting to jointly work on a campaign to Encourage junior officers to take review classes and then take their licensure examinations for higher positions onboard.
They are also encouraging shipping companies to give opportunities to thousands of officers
to move up or expand the source of engine officers. A rich alternative source of candidates for the maritime industry is the electrical and mechanical engineering graduates, which the state-run Maritime Training Council has allowed to cross over profession. It can be done by three to five months classroom study and a six month closely supervised onboard apprenticeship programme.