Ph vows to remain as world’s top source for quality seafarers

Manila, Philippines – The government vows to improve the quality of maritime education in the country as it bids to maintain its reputation as the world’s leading provider of quality seafarers.

“The cooperation of Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) will continue. This was done in the Duterte administration and must be continued so there are three year maritime courses that are being formulated and finalized,” said Transportation Secretary Art Tugade.

Tugade also lauded the initiative of the Duterte administration which set the MARINA as the single maritime agency that will supervise the certification and training for seafarers through Executive Order (EO) 63. The EO mandates MARINA to evaluate and inspect all maritime higher education institutions in coordination with the CHED to ensure that maritime education programs comply with the international regulations.

MARINA is also pushing for the passage of a legislative measure that will provide the enforcement of international standards on maritime safety, prevention of pollution from ships, load lines, tonnage measurements and regulations for preventing collisions at sea of which the Philippines is a State Party.

Data from the MARINA shows that the Philippines was able to deploy nearly 400,000 Filipino seafarers overseas worldwide in 2017.