International Ship Companies Still Prefer Hiring Filipino Seamen

Filipino seamen’s good record and performance keep job opportunities bright, despite economic crisis.

The statement was made by Ship Captain Ronald SJ Enrile, vice president in operation of the Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. (PTC) after news spreading that worldwide ship owners more likely prefer Chinese, Bangladeshians and Caucasians seamen than Filipinos.

“It was true in the past that the Caucasian race like Norwegian, British, American, among others, held the top four positions in the ship which include captain, chiefmate, chief engineer and second engineer, while the least positions were given to Filipinos and other nationalities, but today Filipino seafarers are fielding the top posts in the ship,” Enrile said.

Ship owners’ preference to field the top posts by the Filipino seafarers came in the early 80s after the PTC experimented for the first time to holed up the top posts by Filipino seafarers under the auspices of the Norwegian flagship (its partner and principal).

Before taking the cudgel of managing the Norwegian ship, the four Filipinos and other crew had to undergo training to upgrade their skill in “seafaring and shipmanship,” Enrile said.

He added that as a result, all the Filipinos who fielded the top posts and the crew found to have executed excellently in managing the ship which triggered the Norwegian and other principals in Europe to hire all Filipinos in the top posts.

“Three sets of Filipino seafarers composed of officers and crew who underwent the training. And each set was comprised of 20 to 21 officers and crew as a jumpstart to raise the level of the Filipino seafarers competency in seafaring and seamanship,” he added.

For awhile, the European ship owners were looking forward to hire Chinese for they don’t bother to receive less salary compared to Filipino seafarers who are receiving higher fees.

However, Chinese semen’s problem with communicating in English became a hindrance so they needed to be taught on how to speak and write in English language.

Yet, problem still occurs after teaching Chinese how to speak and write English. According to the report, once the Chinese national learned on how to speak and write English well, he preferred to work on the land and not on the ship.

“Unlike the Filipinos, once they are seafarers they remain seafarers until they retire and they are dedicated and loyal to the ship companies they are working with,” the report stated.