Surmounting challenges in Filipino seafarers' voyage

INTERNATIONAL Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim is inviting every seafarer to look back to "Your voyage — then and now, [and] share your journey," as a way of marking the International Day of the Seafarer on June 25, 2022.

For Filipino seafarers, their collective voyage in the last two years was inarguably the best years of their lives as seafarers — notwithstanding the global pandemic that triggered an unprecedented crew change crisis and other serious challenges to their employment.

Notable among these lingering challenges was the threat posed by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA); the deterioration in the quality of maritime education and training in the country; the reported resurgence of bogus certificates; and last, but certainly not the least, the rampant illegal practice of ambulance chasing.

Amid all these challenges, the Filipino seafarers' journey in the last two years, under Maritime Industry Administration (Marina) Administrator VAdm. Robert Medina and STCW Office Executive Director VAdm.

Rene Medina, have never been easier than before for many decades due to their lasting reforms at Marina.

News Source: Manila Times