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The Philippines, still the world's leading supplier of seafarers, has finally landed on the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) "white list" of member-states complying with its convention.
Countries which have complied with IMO's Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) land on the "white list" considered the state's passport to having its seafarers employed by shipping firms worldwide.
The international shipping lines, referring to this list as a yardstick for the seafarers level of skill and training, have recently been worried by the deteriorating competence of seamen manning the world's tonnage.
Filipino seafarers, however, have remained the favorite of most shipowners worldwide owing to their proficiency in the English language and their adaptability to the workplace.
"Their inclusion in IMO's white list has enabled most shipowners to breathe, a sigh of relief," said one shipowner. "It's what the world's shipping community has been waiting for."
The temporary inclusion of the Philippines in the "white list" has enabled seafarers to undergo training while being free from worries as to whether they will be marketable to their employers or not.
Training courses -- at least 23 of them -- reportedly will cost each seafarer some P805,000, an astronomical sum to most of them if taken at the same time considering that more often than not, only four courses are available to the industry.
However, taking advantage of the prevailing IMO rules, maritime training centers have mushroomed recently filling the need of most seafarers to undergo training in compliance with the STCW convention.
According to an official of the Department of Trade and Industry, such a ruling has been meant to give Filipinos enough time to meet international standards averting the "disastrous impact on the industry without the more adaptable seamen from our country."
Observers believe that the Philippines, supplying roughly 25 percent of seafarers on board vessels plying worldwide routes, still "can call the shots and will be given enough room to meet the world's standards.
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