Seafarers

One-third of the world's seafarers are Filipinos The chairman of International Mariners Management Association of Japan (IMMAJ) has stated that Filipino seafarers are the top choice of philippine1Japanese ship managers and owners. It is a fact that one-third of the world's seafarers are Filipinos. Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) shows that 266,533 Filipino seafarers were deployed all over the world in 2007. Out of this, more than 50,000 Filipino seafarers work on Japan's 3,000 merchant ships. This indicates that roughly 65 percent of Japan's maritime personnel are Filipinos.Also Hellespont, an European shipping company having a manpower agency in Manila, has been hiring all-Filipino crews for its tanker fleet since 2004. This confirms that Filipino seafarers are the most sought seafarers in the global shipping industry. In fact, Filipinos are in demand to man ships at sea - from luxury cruise ships to giant tankers and container ships.Why most of the shipping companies prefer Filipino seafarers ? How they exploit them ?Here are some reasons:1.Seafarers by Nature: Philippines has vast coast line of 36,289 km, that is more than USA (19,924 km), UK (12,429 km), China (14,500 km), France (4,668 km) except Russia (37,653 km) which is almost...

The STCW Convention provides details on the certificates required according to function performed on board and type of vessel. The following tables outline all requirements for personnel on any type of ship designated with safety or pollution duties; in charge of survival craft or rescue boats; designated to control fire fighting; to provide medical care; securities duties and for personnel working on tankers or passenger ships.

AMSA issues Marine Notice The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has issued Marine Notice to advise vessel owners, operators, masters and crews of AMSA's approach to implementing the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) requirements in relation to the maximum continuous period that a seafarer can serve on board a vessel without taking leave. It also outlines how these requirements will be enforced during AMSA port State control (PSC) inspections.BackgroundMLC, 2006 entered into force both in Australia and internationally on 20 August 2013. Since that time, AMSA has incorporated MLC, 2006 inspections within its structured PSC inspection regime.Recently, AMSA inspectors have identified occurrences of seafarer service periods extending well beyond 11 months. While AMSA has received complaints in relation to these occurrences, in some cases the crew members have subsequently agreed to additional service extensions. However, the AMSA inspectors have not always been comfortable that such service extensions have met the "mutual agreement" requirements of MLC, 2006 Regulation 2.1 - Seafarers' Employment Agreements.MLC, 2006The relevant sections of MLC, 2006, Regulation 2.4 - Entitlement to leave and Regulation 2.5 - Repatriation, which make reference to the maximum continuous period that a seafarer can serve on board a vessel without taking leave,...

Seafarers face one of the highest risks of workplace injury or death and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is considered as a first line of defense to keep maritime workers safe while on duty. However, not only seafarers need to start their day by wearing proper PPE but also shipping organizations need to develop a workplace culture that promote the use of PPE at all times.

Imposed restrictions as a result of COVID-19 pandemic has disturbed crew mobility, leaving thousands of seafarers quarantined onboard ships. BIMCO has shared a list of countries where crew change is allowed and a list of countries where it is not allowed as of 20 May 2020. 

A job at sea comes with great benefits and significant challenges as well. For this reason, seafarers must work on improving or adding specific traits in their personality, that will help them, not only cope with the challenges that may come, but also excel at their job. So, what are these necessary personality traits that every seafarer should have?

According to STCW Convention, ratings must meet minimum standards of medical fitness, minimum age (if designated with watchkeeping duties), competence (if designated with watchkeeping duties), and seagoing service time (if designated with watch- keeping duties).

SAFETY4SEA provides a detailed explanation of the terms included in the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, for the better understanding of the Convention.

The North Club provides information concerning which countries enable crew changes and which not, providing updates. Thus, the table below includes the countries that facilitate crew changes. The issue of crew changes has been at the centre of attention lately, as port restrictions and the global lockdown have led to many seafarers being onboard vessels and having their contracts extended.

For STCW, official documents that prove crew members onboard have obtained the required level of maritime education and training, have professional competence for service at sea, the appropriate age and have undergone medical examinations are of outmost importance to ensure compliance with the Convention.