In the recent Maritime Forum in Cebu, the Visayan Association of Ferryboat and Coastwise Shipping Operators (VAFCSO) presented some challenges that affect the sea transport industry in Central Philippines. Among these are: too many, irrelevant and anti-poor domestic shipping regulations; numerous government regulators; and shortage of licensed and competent seafarers.

Regulations are designed to ensure safety of life and property at sea (SOLAS) and the responsibility of implementing them rest upon the government and the merchant fleet owners and operators. Updating those regulations requires constant dialogue among the stakeholders, observance of international maritime standards, and adoption of industry’s best practices from leading domestic shipping companies and foreign counterparts. An interagency, multi-sectoral approach that includes the local government units to review, amend, revise and formulate regulations could address irrelevant, overlapping, conflicting, and anti-poor issuances. The delineation of responsibilities among the government regulators could also be threshed out during such interactions.

Somewhat alarming among the issues is the shortage of qualified seafarers manning inter-island vessels. VAFCSO further observes that the shortage may be attributed to tedious and impractical procedures in licensing, and expensive and excessive training courses for seafarers. Getting a seaman book or merchant marine officer license, for example, takes a lot of sacrifice such as queuing at the issuing agency’s processing office in the early morning and undergoing a number of prerequisite courses. Update-training courses are not only expensive but also excessive and questionable in terms of necessity.

Philippine maritime schools annually produce some 40,000 graduates and more than half that number comes from the Visayas maritime institutions. Due to global shipping downturn starting 2015, and the emerging competition from other seafarer-producing countries in South Asia and Eastern Europe, the demand for overseas Filipino seafarers declined. The result is a 50-75% reduction in the number of jobs available for these fresh graduates. This leaves about 20,000 to 30,000 prospective seafarers for absorption by the domestic shipping industry.

In 2012, there were about 300,000 seafarers in all vessels engaged in domestic trade, mostly passenger and cargo or both, except those in fishing boats. Most of these seafarers are embarked in nearly 3,000 steel-hulled ships of over 150 gross tons and the rest work in smaller vessels numbering 19,000 or so. There has been an upward trend in local ship construction since 2013, and the government still allows used ships importation as more RORO ports are constructed along or near the established nautical highways. The country also ranked 4th globally in terms of tonnage capacity in the World Book Order.

As a top country investment destination, partly due to the “build, build, build” strategy, our trade and commerce are expected to grow faster. With heightened economic activity and the adoption of international maritime standards, domestic shipping companies may have to hire additional qualified seafarers, not only to promote SOLAS but also to improve their organizational systems and procedures for more efficient services to the public and their clients.

The seafarers are the business enterprise’s frontline personnel. They go through the rigors of the trade of navigating the ship that demands profound knowledge, considerable skills, and technical expertise. But there are instances when fatigue sets in and the seafarer’s agility and work performance diminish. These are the times when many sea accidents occur. To prevent sea accidents, the government issues rules and regulations and assigns inspectors to compel compliance. Enforcement of rules and regulations, however, is just one aspect of maritime safety. Seafarers’ education and training is another.

There are 80-100 maritime schools educating and/or training prospective seafarers: officers and ratings. To be fully qualified, graduates must pass the 1978 requirements of the International Convention on Standards on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping or STCW. Already twice amended, the Convention aims to enhance safety by focusing on the professional competence, physical fitness, and technical skills of all seafarers to conduct the ship from the port of origin to the port of destination. Navigating ships include not only strict observance of international and municipal maritime safety laws but also addressing emergency evolutions on board, such as firefighting, damage control, vessel and personnel security, repeal boarders, inclement weather evasion, and lifeboat operation.

With the high cost of education and training, one formidable challenge of maritime schools is to increase the qualifying exam success rate of their graduates so they get jobs early on, hone their skills, gain experience, add value to their company, and raise seafaring standards. This will eventually make the Filipino seafarers, whether working locally or overseas, very competitive in seafaring profession. On the other hand, domestic shipping owners can assist our seafarers by providing a working environment conducive to organizational systems improvement and professional development. The Greek historian Polybius once said, “Education in tandem with experience is the best foundation for dealing with both adversity and good fortune.”