Philippine seafarers are on a sinking ship. Billions of dollars will drown with them

Philippine seafarers are on a sinking ship. Billions of dollars will drown with them
Isabel Martinez, 16 Jan 2023

Filipinos make up more than one-third of the world’s seafarers, but they could soon be banned from the open sea. The unlikely culprit is the Philippines’ poor maritime-training record

Philippine seafarers are on a sinking ship. Billions of dollars will drown with them

Conrad de Jesus is the heftiest person in his village. Standing 190 cm tall and weighing more than 90 kg, it’s no surprise that he makes a living by using his physicality. Seafaring was an obvious career choice, he told The Ken.

“You need a strong body and a strong mind. At sea, you work 12 hours a day, seven days a week. When it’s stormy, you vomit and get back to work. When you miss your family and you’re dying to see anything besides seawater, you get back to work,” he added.

De Jesus is an officer on watch, the third-highest... login to continue reading....https://the-ken.com/sea/story/philippine-seafarers-are-on-a-sinking-ship...