seafarertimes.com ~ Maritime News for Filipino Seafarers

29 days after Typhoon Odette: M/V Tug Trinity Strong, 12 crew members still missing
Kevin A. Lagunda January 14, 2022 https://ph.news.yahoo.com/29-days-typhoon-odette-mv-034600140.html?gucco...

32 COVID-19-positive seafarers from Manila arrive in Zamboanga City
John Unson - January 14, 2022 https://www.philstar.com/nation/2022/01/14/2153869/32-covid-19-positive-...

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Thirty-two passengers of a boat from Manila tested positive for COVID-19 in a local government screening facility in the Zamboanga City seaport.

Foreign seafarers say they were tricked into servitude on Iranian ships
Katie McQue 14 Jan 2022 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-shipping-seafarers...

EO adopting ‘integrated approach’ in int’l maritime dev’t signed
Azer Parrocha January 13, 2022 https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1165311

MANILA – President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has signed an executive order (EO) adopting an “integrated approach” in the ratification and accession to international maritime organization conventions and instruments.

Duterte reforms body on international maritime conventions
Alexis Romero - January 14, 2022 | https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/01/14/2153788/duterte-reforms-bo...

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has reconstituted the inter-agency body on maritime conventions to enhance the level of safety of shipping and advance the training and certification standards for seafarers.

New Palace order reconstitutes maritime inter-agency committee
Samuel P. Medenilla January 13, 2022 https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/01/13/new-palace-order-reconstitutes-...

President Duterte has signed Executive Order (EO) No.159 reconstituting the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee for the Ratification and Accession to and Implementation of Maritime Convention (ICCRAIMC).

Overdue crew levels at record lows as more seafarers are vaccinated
Cichen Shen 13 Jan 2022

Data from the Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator shows 3.7% of seafarers were still working beyond their contracts last month, which is the lowest level since the tally was first published in May 2021

Some seafarers remain hesitant about being inoculated while the vaccines are short supplied, or not recognized in certain geographies. And access to the booster jab is already said to have become a new challenge

It’s time for the industry to stand up and be counted in support of our seafarers
January 11, 2022 https://splash247.com/its-time-for-the-industry-to-stand-up-and-be-count...

Frank Coles is frustrated at the limited take-up to date of a petition to enable proper treatment of seafarers during the pandemic. It does not reflect well on our industry as a whole, he argues.

Report: Crew Change Crisis is Waning, but Omicron Could Bring it Back
Jan 12, 2022 https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/report-crew-change-crisis-is-...

The latest numbers from the Neptune Declaration on Crew Change appear to show good news for seafarers: The number of mariners working on an extended contract has fallen to its lowest level since at least May 2021, a major improvement in a key metric for morale.

Personal rather than work-related issues a lead cause of seafarer suicide
Jonathan Boonzaier 12 January 2022 https://www.tradewindsnews.com/insight/personal-rather-than-work-related...

Seafaring is a stressful job, but the work itself is not what is driving seafarers over the edge