DOTr's Bautista: EMSA to provide €4M to help Filipino seafarers

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista on Monday said the European Maritime Safety Agency would provide €4 million to the Philippine government to help in the training of Filipino seafarers.

"Ang European Maritime Safety Agency ay magbibigay pa ng tulong sa gobyerno ng Pilipinas no, four million euro to improve the education and training of our seafarers," Bautista told reporters at the sidelines of an event in Pasay City.

(The European Maritime Safety Agency will provide assistance to the Philippine government, €4 million to improve the education and training of our seafarers.)

Bautista said officials from the country's maritime sector would meet with EMSA executives in Belgium next week to discuss how the aid would be utilized.

"Next week, we have a team from the maritime sector that will meet with EMSA in Brussels para pagusapan itong tulong na ito, kung papaano natin mapapakinabangan and maipagpapatuloy 'yung magandang training para we continue to conform to the STCW standards," he said.

(Next week, we have a team from the maritime sector that will meet with EMSA in Brussels to discuss this aid, how we will use this and how we will continue the training to conform with the STCW standards.)

The European Commission announced in March that it would continue to recognize the certificates issued for seafarers by the Philippines.

The regional bloc cited the country's "serious efforts to comply with the requirements, in particular in key areas like the monitoring, supervision and evaluation of training and assessment."

Data from the Department of Migrant Workers indicated that the pre-pandemic deployment of Filipino seafarers was at 505,769 while in 2022, the number decreased to 489,852.

Meanwhile, the data also showed that from January to March 2023, the deployment of Filipino seafarers was at 149,126.

"We can see that, I think projection wise by the end of the year, we will be back to pre-pandemic levels," DMW Secretary Susan Ople said.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has renewed his call for the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to ensure the upskilling and reskilling of Filipino seafarers.

Marcos said there is a need for the shipping industry "to adapt and integrate new developments into their fleets, starting with the retooling of existing ships and the building of newer and more modern ships equipped with these new technologies." 

"As President, I reiterate my directive to the Maritime Industry Authority and the Commission on Higher Education to work closely with the shipping industry on the upskilling and reskilling of Filipino seafarers to prepare them for the shift of ocean-going vessels from using conventional fuel sources to green ammonia between 2030 to 2040," Marcos said in his speech during the summit conference “Shaping the Future of Shipping: Seafarer 2050” at Conrad Manila. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News