Seafarers lament Marina’s training inadequacies

Our seafarers’ continuing training is an issue that urgently needs attention. Just as what our letter sender in this column has expressed, Filipino seafarers complain that the required training provided by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) is oftentimes inferior to what their shipping employers routinely give.

As has been discussed in some forums, the training is insufficient to prepare our seamen for a serious career in manning ships. This has resulted in our countrymen being bypassed for the more lucrative officer positions.

There has to be a better way for the MARINA to handle the careers of about half a million Filipino seamen who comprise about a third of the world’s total seafaring workers’ population.

Most of our seamen are career-conscious, and who look at the shipping industry as a job that they will grow old in. They realize that in today’s competitive shipping industry, those who are keen on upgrading their training get better chances at earning higher positions.

Our letter sender today has requested anonymity, but his comments and pleas are valid enough to be given space in this column. I hope that our shipping authorities will hear this out, and more importantly, start the process of improving the seaman’s training needed and required. Here goes.

“I have been a seafarer since 2007. I have been connected with Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) since I started as a seafarer. I read your article “Wish list for Marina on Small ROROs.” You raised the question why Marina is still allowing second-hand ROROs to operate in the Philippines when it is trying to keep the safety of the seafaring passengers in mind. 

“This is why I decided to send you this e-mail. I hope you can bring it up in public and to the attention of our lawmakers in Congress. Right now, Marina has come up a new regulation concerning the accreditation of all Filipino seafarers.

New training requirements

“By 2017, all Filipino seafarers must undergo the Basic Training Refresher Course (BT-R) and Basic Training Upgrading (BT-U) before they can be allowed to work on ships, here and abroad.

“The Basic Safety Training (Safety of Life at Sea or SOLAS) and our accreditation from the National Assessment Center (NAC) will be disregarded. What will be required are the BT-R and BT-U. And in place of the NAC is the Certificates of Proficiency (COP). So before Marina will issue a seafarer his COP, the seafarer has to undergo both BT-R and BT-U first and has to pass them.

“When we asked the instructor in the training center where we had our BT-R and BT-U why we have to undergo these additional training, he told us that Marina came up with these new requirements because of the recent accidents happening in the shipping industry.

Waste of money and time

“We believe that indeed there were incidents in the shipping industry lately. After we finished and passed our training, we really didn’t pick up anything new. Our training was supposed to be from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. But we never started earlier that 7:30 a.m. Then we were dismissed before 2 p.m.

“We just wasted money and most especially the time we could have spent with our family while we are on vacation.

“Working on a cruise ship is very much different than working on a cargo or containment ship. On a cruise ship, where our company NCL operates, a ship could have between 900 to 2000++ crewmembers onboard.

“On a cargo or containment ship, depending on its size, it could have between 15 to 25 crewmembers. So in a cargo or a containment ship, all crewmembers should know all the task in case of an emergency. But in a cruise ship, we have specialized teams doing specific tasks in case of an emergency.

“Then, when a crew member joins an NCL ship, he has to undergo familiarization training, then a test on his first week on board. Then every week, we have an emergency drill.

“I don’t know if Marina knows about what’s happening on board a cruise ship for the crew members. We undergo a lot of training while we are on board. We even have better training materials on board than the ones provided in the training centers here in the Philippines.

“For most of my fellow seafarers who have undergone this additional training program set by Marina, it was a very successful money-making venture for the government agency and the training centers. 

Most abused

“I think the Filipino seafarers are most abused by our own government before we can work on ships abroad. Does Marina know that cruise ships hire other nationalities without SOLAS and without being assessed of the knowledge of life at sea? 

“These other nationalities can do their SOLAS and assessment when they get on board, for free. They can get their US visa without these trainings. But Marina still has to make us undergo additional training at our own cost.

“Now we heard that by the next year, Marina will require us to do training because there will be new articles added to Marpol concerning marine pollution. But our company makes all its crewmembers go on training as soon as new policies are implemented. And we have certificates to show for it.

“We even have some Filipino crew members who were hired directly from Dubai. They had their SOLAS and assessments on board. But Marina didn’t honor their certificates and had them undergo the training and assessment here in the Philippines when they were on vacation. Why is this so?

“As I had said before, the materials used in these training on board are sometimes the latest in the shipping industry. So, is it all about the money? 

“Maybe MARINA thinks that we seamen are making a lot of money while we are on board, and won’t complain or raise a fuss when we are made to undergo these additional training.

“The government is very proud in telling the world that we are the new heroes. But do we deserve to be abused by our own government?”

PCCL 2014 National Collegiate Championship

Visit the official website of Champions League (PCCL) 2014 National Collegiate Championship, www.CollegiateChampionsLeague.net, for progress on the search for the best collegiate teams nationwide. As of date, the following are assured of seats in the Elite Eight stage of the games: NU Bulldogs, UAAP champion; SWU Cobras, CESAFI-Cebu champion; FEU Tamaraws, UAAP runner-up; USC Warriors, CESAFI runner-up; NCAA finalists, San Beda Red Lions and Arellano U Chiefs; and the winner of Vis-Min Qualifying games, UV Green Lancers.

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