Almost 50,000 Filipino marine officers working onboard European-flagged vessels are ensured of employment after the European Commission (EC) decided to continue the recognition of Philippine-issued Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) certificates for seafarers, the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) said Saturday, April 1.

MARINA Administrator Hernani Fabia said he was elated with the decision of the EC which he said reflected the government’s serious efforts to address the issues on seafarer’s training and certification that were raised by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The EC is part of the executive of the European Union (EU).

“The Maritime Industry Authority welcomed the decision of the European Commission to continue the recognition of Philippine-issued STCW Certificates, thus, ensuring the employment of almost 50,000 Filipino marine officers onboard European-flagged vessels,” Fabia said.

“EC’s decision is a nod to the serious efforts taken by the country since the first EMSA inspection back in 2006,” he added.

The EMSA carried out a total of 13 inspections on the Philippines’ maritime education, training, and certification system from 2006 to 2020. In 2020, the EMSA pointed out the country’s repeated failure to hurdle their evaluation in the past 16 years, putting at risk the jobs of about 50,000 seafarers.

But after a careful evaluation of the country’s corrective actions to address the 2020 findings raised by EMSA, the EC concluded that the measures taken by the Philippines “demonstrate concrete progress and improvement as regards the compliance with the requirements of the STCW Convention,” MARINA said.

Back in February, Fabia met with representatives from the EC at the sidelines of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW 9) Meeting in London.

There, Fabia relayed the "strong support and commitment" of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to fully comply with the requirements of the STCW Convention, which was established in 1978 to establish minimum basic requirements on training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers on an international level.

Fabia also stressed that the country would sustain the implementation of all corrective measures through continued coordination with other government agencies such as the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), Department of Health (DOH), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) among others.

Meanwhile, Fabia thanked the European Union and all countries who continue to employ Filipino seafarers as the country continues to be a top source of certified seafarers globally. A 2021 report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said that around 700,000 Filipinos were working on foreign-flagged sea vessels.

“Their trust and confidence in Filipino seafarers is something that the country values and as such, all efforts will be made to ensure that we continue to provide them with globally competitive and highly-skilled maritime workforce,” Fabia emphasized.