Surmounting challenges in Filipino seafarers' voyage

Surmounting challenges in Filipino seafarers' voyage
June 25, 2022 https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/06/25/supplements/surmounting-challenge...

INTERNATIONAL Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim is inviting every seafarer to look back to "Your voyage — then and now, [and] share your journey," as a way of marking the International Day of the Seafarer on June 25, 2022.

For Filipino seafarers, their collective voyage in the last two years was inarguably the best years of their lives as seafarers — notwithstanding the global pandemic that triggered an unprecedented crew change crisis and other serious challenges to their employment.

Notable among these lingering challenges was the threat posed by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA); the deterioration in the quality of maritime education and training in the country; the reported resurgence of bogus certificates; and last, but certainly not the least, the rampant illegal practice of ambulance chasing.

Amid all these challenges, the Filipino seafarers' journey in the last two years, under Maritime Industry Administration (Marina) Administrator VAdm. Robert Medina and STCW Office Executive Director VAdm. Rene Medina, have never been easier than before for many decades due to their lasting reforms at Marina.

Unburdening seafarers' woes

The two Marina officials have to get rid of the unnecessary Certificate of Endorsement (COE). Marina has been charging seafarers for the issuance of COE, which is totally unnecessary, for many years.

Similarly, Marina also gave free Seafarers Record Book (SRB) to those first time to be issued documents and slashed by 50 percent the cost of renewing the seaman's book which ranges from P1,000 to P18,000.

More significantly, they were able to muster enough political will to introduce the Marina Competency Review Portal (CRP), an online platform designed to help seafarers prepare for their theoretical examination to enable them to obtain their Certificate of Competency (COC) and become licensed marine officers.

This free online review has practically pushed some review centers out of business. Aside from the huge savings for not enrolling in review centers because of CRP, seafarers can now prepare for exams even while onboard their vessels or in the comfort of their homes as long as they have internet access.

For some maritime stakeholders the decision of Marina to unburden seafarers of some costly training courses have a lasting impact on Filipino seafarers.

Despite strong protests from some maritime training providers Marina made the Management Level Course (MLC) and Operational Level Course optional.

With regards to the refresher course for Basic Training a seafarer can now proceed to revalidation if has 12-month seagoing service in the last five year and has documentary evidence proving he underwent training onboard.

Moreover, what could be considered an unprecedented success is the fight against corrupt practices within the maritime administration.

Marina has banished from the STCW Office liaison officers or LOs, who were proven to be operating as "fixers," jacking the cost of issuance of COC and certificates of Proficiency (COP) as well as Seafarer Identity Documents (SID).

It also accelerated the Marina Integrated Seafarers Management Online System (MISMO), the online platform for the issuance of COC and COP, that freed seafarers from long queues in the processing of their documents.

Preserving seafarers' employment

To protect the jobs of thousands of seafarers, Marina at the height of the pandemic has made timely interventions. It has extended several times the validity of the STCW documents of seafarers.

It likewise allowed training centers to hold blended training programs that really helped the seafarers to cope with challenges in mobility and financial constraints.

Another major accomplishment is the vaccination program for seafarers, through the Covid-19 Vaccination Portal, in cooperation with manning groups led by the Association of Licensed Manning Agencies (ALMA).

Close to 87,000 seafarers were inoculated, allowing crewing companies to address the needs of their principals. It was also Marina that requested the government for western brands for seafarers which are acceptable to most countries.

Upon ALMA's recommendation, Marina pushed for the creation of the Green Lane to allow unhampered and safe travel of seafarers and subsequently proposed to make the country a crew change hub to ease the worsening crew change crisis.

In response, the Transportation department created the One-Stop-Shop and opened several ports for crew change operations. As of June 1, 2022, these ports have served around 5,660 ships and 95,000 seafarers.

Enhancing seafarers' education and training

In his recent visit to Manila, International Chamber of Shipping Chair Esben Poulsson, in his assessment, considered the issue of seafarers' training as the most serious threat to the continued employment of Filipino seafarers.

Marina, however, has made considerable headway in improving seafarers' competence by initially focusing on the assessment of competency of marine officers.

Test questions in the theoretical exams were subjected to thorough scrutiny and validation by subject matter experts who are experienced and respected senior deck and engineer officers. Also on the practical assessment, the STCW Office has standardized the practical scenarios used in all its accredited assessment centers.

These moves were designed to ensure that only qualified officers would be issued licenses as well as holders of COCs and COPs.

Moreover, critical to improving the seafarers' quality of education and training is the Philippine Response to the European Commission Assessment, which details the actions the country had taken or planning to undertake to correct the issues raised by EMSA.

Hence, for ALMA, Marina's most significant accomplishment in protecting Filipino seafarers' jobs is its corrective actions to address the EMSA findings.

The group said that even if the European Commission has not given their decision on whether or not our response warrants their continuous recognition of our Certificate of Competencies, the hard work of Marina to come up with the response is an achievement in itself.

Certainly, Filipino seafarers will continue to face the rough sea in their voyage, but with Marina's lasting reforms, they are in a better position to surmount the challenges.

CIH