Demand increasing for Filipino seafarers in Italy

GMANews.TV
Article posted September 25, 2007 - 04:49 PM

Ship owners in Italy would need at least 20,000 marine deck officers in the next three years. Their No. 1 recruitment targets are Filipinos.

Officials of Italy-based Registro Italiano Navale (RINA), a ship classification entity, launched on Monday the Italian Maritime Academy – Philippines, Inc. (IMA-Phils) that would evaluate Filipino applicants to fill in vacancies in Italian vessels and help upgrade their skills.

“We have many new vessels, but we don’t have many qualified and experienced seafarers as Italians are not so much interested in working on ships," said Robert Cazullo, chairman of IMA-Phils. “I think this is the big challenge for us."

By 2010, Cazullo said IMA would be recruiting more Filipino seafarers than any other nationality.

IMA-Philippines, he explained, would primarily “assess the professional skills of Filipinos" and help upgrade their capabilities.

“We believe they (Filipino seafarers) are the most competent in seafarers in lower rank, at present. Through the IMA-Philippines, we would be able to produce seafarers for the high-level positions. We will be updating their knowledge on rules and regulations to meet the International standards," Cazullo explained.

According to him, Italian ship builders have been making more vessels, particularly cruise and passenger vessels and, in the near future, would also be making the so-called “gas ships" that would transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other chemical carrier vessels.

For his part, Ugo Salerno, chief executive officer of RINA, said Italian ship owners want to make sure that the right people are hired to run Italian vessels.

“To have the right people to run these vessels, we decided to establish the Italian Maritime Academy-Philippines, Inc. We believed that by mixing skilled Filipino seafarers and our equipment, we will be able to do better in shipping industries," Salerno said.

RINA is Italy’s oldest classification society established in 1861. Its main goal is to provide quality sea vessels, Salerno said.

RINA enjoys the strong backing of the wealthy and top Italian ship owners conducting business all over the world, he said.

The Italian Ship owners Association called Confitarma prefer Filipino seafarers who are considered to be the best in low-ranking ship personnel all over the world, Salerno said.

“What we need to do is to upgrade their level of expertise and skills. The Philippines is the right place to establish a training center like this" he asserted.

Filipino ship Capt. Teofilo Nieto, Jr., training director of IMA-Philippines, said the facility will serve as the graduate school for experienced Filipino seafarers aspiring to achieve higher levels of competence, and eventually be accommodated in Italian ships.

IMA-Philippines is located at the NEDA building in Makati. It is equipped with the latest Italian Maritime Training equipment such as engine room and cargo handling simulators for use of the Filipino trainees.

It can accommodate an initial batch of 50 trainees.

“Their tuition will be shouldered by their employers. We are an assessment and training center for Filipino seamen with the purpose of enhancing their skills as required by the shipping firms" Nieto said.

Through the IMA-Philippines, the low ranking seamen, who are aspiring to become marine deck officers with managerial positions can achieve their goals, Nieto said.

“Graduating trainees will be employed onboard the kind of ship suited to them for at least two months," Nieto said. In the course of the training, the trainees would have to undergo an external examination as part of an assessment of their skills and qualifications.

The duration of the training would depend on the trainee’s expertise and specialization, Nieto said.