Hamburg: “Germany and the EU cannot possibly have world-class efficient commercial ships manned by Filipinos today, and world-class efficient ships without Filipinos onboard tomorrow”, said the vice president of the Philippines Jejomar Binay at a maritime round table held at the head offices of classification society Germanischer Lloyd (GL) recently. 

Vice President Binay called on the more than 60 representatives of the maritime community, including leading shipping management and shipbuilding companies, to provide assistance and support in the upcoming audit of the country’s compliance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention) by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). Compliance is essential if Filipino seafarers are to continue to sail on EU flagged vessels.

There are some 40,000 Filipino seafarers on German owned vessels and the Vice President noted that: “Our most pressing duty right now is to keep the Filipino seafarers, with your able and gracious assistance, on board the EU-flagged ships sailing the seven seas.” He continued: “We take our STCW compliance very seriously and are determined to make sure this issue is addressed fully by the time the next EMSA audit is conducted in October”.