1,500 seafaring jobs up for grabs as RP celebrates National Maritime Week

An estimated 1,500 seafaring jobs will be up for grabs this Sept. 23 and 24 as the Philippines, the world’s leading supplier of skilled seafaring labor, celebrates National Maritime Week.

The event aptly called “Ang Lakas Mo Marino! 2010 Seafarers’ Job and Wellness Fair” will be held at University Activity Center of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, in Intramuros.

The two-day event managed by Buhay Marino, one of the country’s most reputable maritime publications, will open shop between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is free for persons interested to participate in the job seeking activity.
Eric Arevalo, job fair manager and editor-in-chief of the publication, said 25 major manning agencies will be participating in the event.

Aside from providing work to vacationing seafarers, Arevalo said the job fair also features financial literacy seminars and other related activities sponsored by the Philippine Stock Exchange and health and wellness tips from nutrition specialists of Nestle Philippines.

“Aside from providing livelihood opportunities for our seafarers, we will also be giving them a chance to better themselves financially and physically,” he stressed.

Arevalo added it is only fitting that Buhay Marino give something back to the industry and people responsible for its steady growth in the past eight years.

Buhay Marino was established by former seaman, Chief Mate Rene Sangalang, in September 2002.
The publication aims to educate and provide the country’s estimated 300,000 seafarers with the latest maritime news and developments in the manning industry.

The Maritime Week celebrations are embodied under Presidential Proclamation No. 1560 dated July 17, 2008 with the end view of promoting maritime awareness to the public.

It is also in conjunction with the World Maritime Day’s theme: “2010: Year of the Seafarer”. - US News Agency / Asian

17 Filipino seafarers freed off Seychelles—DFA

MANILA, Philippines—Seventeen Filipino seafarers abducted by Somali pirates have been released Thursday, more than 10 months since they were seized off the archipelago nation of Seychelles, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported on Friday.

The seafarers were freed off the coast of Somalia Thursday afternoon, the DFA said.

The owner of Taiwan-flagged FV Win Far 161 also said the Filipino crew were all in good condition and would soon be repatriated to the Philippines.

FV Win Far 161 was hijacked off Seychelles last April 2009.

"Before it was released yesterday, it was the longest held vessel with Filipino crew," the DFA said.

The DFA said there are 23 Filipinos still being held captive off Somalia onboard three vessels: two onboard the Thai Union 3, three onboard the MV St. James Park and 18 onboard the MV Navios Apollon.

"The DFA-OUMWA (DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs) continues to coordinate closely with the local manning agencies for the early and safe release of all these seafarers," the DFA said. - Abigail Kwok, INQUIRER.net, February 12, 2010

No OFW deployment ban to Somalia—labor chief

MANILA, Philippines—There is no need to ban the deployment of Filipino seafarers to foreign-flagged ships passing by the pirate-infested waters of Somalia because effective interventions are in place, the labor department said in a statement e-mailed to media outfits.

This is in contrast to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recommendation for a total ban on such deployment.

“We do not recommend the banning of our Filipino seafarers from working in foreign vessels that ply pirate-infested waters in Somalia as interventions on how to deal with the piracy problem have been identified during the anti-piracy summit,” said Labor Secretary Marianito Roque.

He noted that the proposed ban would result in Filipino seafarers losing their jobs which would affect their families as well as the Philippine seafaring industry and the economy.

The issues identified by the DFA in its recommendation are being addressed in the implementation of a joint communiqué or agreement forged between the labor department and seafarers groups, manning and shipping sectors, the International Labor Organization, and the International Maritime Organization.

Roque said the communiqué was signed during the Anti-Piracy Summit for Filipino Seafarers held last January 8 at the Amosup Seamen’s Center in Intramuros, Manila.

As provided for by the joint communiqué, three measures are now being implemented for the protection of the Filipino seafarers against sea piracy covering the formulation of anti-piracy regulations, and the conduct of anti-piracy training and psycho-social counseling for seafarers.

Roque said that more than 200 agencies out of 350 manning firms have already submitted their anti-piracy training modules to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The final approval of the said modules will be based on the standard training module which the POEA is preparing in coordination with the Maritime Training Center (MTC).

Based on the POEA Memorandum Circular 02, Series of 2010, “all manning agencies must require seafarers to undergo training on practical measures to avoid, deter, or delay piracy/ attacks prior to deployment.” The anti-piracy training is separate and in addition to the regular pre-departure orientation seminar (PDOS) conducted for departing seafarers. In addition, manning agencies will have to submit to POEA a list of all the trainees each month indicating the name, date of training, and name of company.

Aside from the anti-piracy training, the POEA has also approved a resolution allowing the deployment of Filipino seafarers on board vessels transiting in pirate-infested areas provided that the ship owners, principals, managers, or manning agencies will ensure that the vessel will pass within the maritime security patrol area.

The ship owner and manning agencies will also submit appropriate security measures such as security escorts or joining convoy to all ships passing through known pirate-infested areas.

Meanwhile, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration is providing psycho-social counseling and other support services for families and their kin who could become victims of piracy. - INQUIRER.net, February 14, 2010

Filipino seamen still rule the seas, for now

The money sent home by overseas Filipino sailors rose by $108 million to a new record of $2.501 billion in the first nine months of 2009, an increase of or 4.51 percent from $2.393 billion over the same period in 2008, according to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

TUCP secretary general and former Senator Ernesto Herrera said the rise in remittances from sea-based migrant Filipino workers is due to increased enlistment by ship owners in Europe and Asia.

“A growing number of European and Asian shipping firms is disbanding their multinational crews, and replacing them wholesale with all-Filipino personnel that are younger and more able,” says Herrera.

“Foreign employers find Filipino sailors quick learners, and easier to train compared to other nationals. This may be due to their superior instruction here, apart from their ability to understand English,” he adds.

About 229,000 Filipino sailors are on board merchant shipping vessels around the world at any given time, data from the Department of Labor and Employment show.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reports that in 2007 – the year for which the most recent data are available – Filipino seafarers were employed by 1,157 registered/accredited manning agencies, up from 869 in 2006.

The Philippines, says POEA, has been the world’s leading supplier of seafarers since 1987, making it the manning capital of the world.

Overseas assignments

Data in 2007 showed that Filipino seamen were scattered aboard vessels bearing various flags of registry: Panama – 51,614; Bahamas – 29,681; Liberia – 21,966; Singapore – 10,308; Marshall Islands – 9, 772; United Kingdom – 8,172 ; Malta – 7,513; Cyprus – 7, 052; the Netherlands – 7,017; and Norway – 6, 975.

By vessel type, here are the 2007 statistics on Filipino seamen: passenger-type – 47, 782; bulk carriers – 42, 356; containers – 31, 983; tankers – 25,011; oil/product tankers – 14, 462; general cargo ships – 10,754.; chemical tankers – 7,502 ; tugboats – 6,610; pure car carriers – 5,742; and gas tankers – 3,471.

By type of work, the 226,900 local seafarers deployed overseas in 2007 were assigned as follows: seamen – 31,818; oilers – 19,491; ordinary semen – 17,355; mess men – 7,810; chief cooks – 7,778; bosuns – 7,737; third engineers – 7,056; third mates – 6,599; and waiters – 6,388.

Global crisis

In late 2008, even as the global financial crisis was wreaking havoc on virtually every major economic sector, the manning industry suffered minimal setback in terms of job losses.

“The bulk of the seafaring industry is not as affected as people might think,” says Miguel Angel Rocha, vice-president for business development of CF Sharp Crew Management, Inc., one of the country’s leading manning companies. His firm is now the major business of CCF Sharp, a port agency business began in the late 1930s by his grandfather and business partner CF Sharp. It is also the first Filipino manning company to be certified as compliant with ISO 9000 Standards.

“The manning industry is a trailing indicator,” Rocha tells Planet Philippines in an interview. “Only after an event will it be affected. Lately, ships had been 15% laid up, or out of service, and by 2009 the figure was 30%. But jobs were not lost because of the `hot’ or `warm’ nature of the industry – a ship always needs engineers and crew to operate, maintain and mobilize it.

“Chinese factories stopped ordering raw materials and so bulk ships were the first to get affected. By November 2008 there was a decrease in daily chartering from $180, 0000 per day to $3,000-5,000 per day in September. After Christmas [of 2008] and New Year [of 2009], there were no more orders and container ships were down. We don’t see a significant loss of jobs but we do see slower growth.”

Prospects

Rocha is optimistically guarded about the prospects in 2010.

“Even if the global economy gets better, it will take a long time before we see a recovery in our industry,” he stresses.

He warns that if the market worsens, jobs will be harder to find.

“Also, seafarers now working might have to work less and stay on vacation longer. There is no growth as ship owners try to maintain their pace of work where they have 15 persons on board for the 10 actually needed.”

But then, Rocha explains, the shipping industry is cyclical. “A new ship means new crew in boom times. Now this is going to change and so they’re laying vessels but not selling them for scrap, and giving the crew longer shore leave. But then again, things might turn around and it will be boom time again.”

Poaching of officers

Rocha is actually more concerned about the poaching of senior officers, from master officers and chief mates to chief and second engineers, which could have a more dramatic impact on the industry.

The global shortage of officers is oftentimes remedied by a greater-rotation-cum-shorter-vacation solution. The problem is only a recent development, according to Rocha. Officers and ratings used to be available, mostly from the West.

“But as more ships were built in the ‘90s and today, as the economy of the West expands, British, German and Norwegian officers can earn as much or even more on land. They have left and have been replaced by officers from Poland and Ukraine.”

The vacuum could have been filled up by the local manning industry but unfortunately, there are not enough Filipinos with the required skills and training.

Lack of training

“There are 80 to 100 maritime schools offering BS Marine Transportation and BS Marine Engineering courses with a curriculum of three years in the classroom and 12 months on board a ship prior to state board exams, but less than 20 percent of the students get on board,” he laments.

Rocha cites two top maritime schools in the Philippines where slightly under 15% of the most recent graduating class have trained on a ship. Their graduates got certificates of academic equivalency but they are not on board because the majority of ship owners do not make a provision for cadets on board, who would also have to be paid.

“The problem is no one is willing to challenge ship owners,” he continues. “Some 280,000 students graduate each year. That seems a lot of seamen who could get a higher income for their families. But people don’t see the uphill battle in getting the license, and educators prey on seamen. Going abroad is not always pleasant experience and can be very daunting.”

But Rocha notes that there is a bit of positive news on the horizon as ship owners have lately invested in training. For one, the Norwegian Shipowners Association has a program for cadets.

But without support from POEA and the Commission for Higher Education (CHED), Rocha fears that maritime schools might not participate or offer enough slots in the training and development of seafarers.

It remains to be seen if the government and the manning industry could come up with policies and measures to address the problems and challenges. Unless there is a serious effort to meet them head-on, less and less Filipino seafarers may find their way into the open seas. - Perla Aragon Choudhury, 02 February 2010, http://planetphilippines.com

OFWs Deliver Again

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is one of the three East Asian countries (excepting China) that avoided a recession in 2009. The other two are Indonesia and Vietnam.

Registering a positive growth in GDP of at least 1.5 percent (it could been higher had it not been for the devastation caused by super typhoons), the Philippine economy has grown mostly due to private consumption expenditures and government pump priming. Exports dropped precipitously and investments were anemic.

The consumption-led growth, in turn, can be attributed to the more than P800 billion received by the relatives of the overseas Filipino workers whose remittances increased by more than 4 percent for the whole year against all odds. The Philippines would have surely gone into a recession if the OFW remittances had dropped by 6 percent or more, as forecasted by the World Bank and IMF at the beginning of this year.

Thanks to the superior quality of OFWs (the first to be hired and the last to be fired), remittances kept on increasing throughout the year. The only fly in the ointment is the strengthening of the peso at the end of the year, due mostly to the depreciation of the dollar. Many OFWs were expecting an exchange rate closer to P50 to $1 at the end of the year. They would be lucky to get P47.

Be that as it may, the purchasing power of the relatives of the OFWs is a formidable P800 billion or more. Since the government is already reaching its limit of deficit spending of 4 percent of GDP, the Philippine economy will have to be propelled by consumption spending for at least the first half of 2010 for the GDP growth target of 3 to 4 percent for the whole of next year to be attained.

That is why I reiterate my suggestion that OFWs and their relatives take an upbeat mood beyond the traditional Christmas period. I got a lot of feedback about my suggestion that at least for this year, Christmas be extended to at least to the middle of January to coincide with the Sto. Nino celebrations in cities like Cebu.

Let me respond to some of the criticisms to my suggestion. I was not in the least suggesting the adoption of a consumerist outlook. Consumerism is evil. It is a lifestyle that equates human happiness with an unlimited accumulation of goods, of making "having" as the end all and be all of human existence.

In fact, what I suggested was for the OFWs to help their relatives who suffered from the ravages of Ondoy and Pepeng to rebuild their houses, replace their damaged clothes, furniture, and appliances, and in general restore their standards of living to where they were before the tragedies struck. These expenditures are the farthest from a consumerist lifestyle. They are for basic necessities and do not imply an insatiable desire for material goods.
It is not true that all OFWs are limited to only two or three weeks of vacation. For one, there are the 380,000 seafarers who normally get anywhere for one month to three months of home leave. I am very familiar with this category of OFWs because I do a lot of research on Filipino seamen who will be our perpetual OFWs.

Even if we are able to eradicate poverty completely in the Philippines, there will always be hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in international shipping lines because they are highly appreciated by their respective employers and many Filipino males have a natural inclination to working in this industry. Even during the current crisis, when numerous ships were mothballed in places like Singapore and Hong Kong, the demand for Filipino seafarers continued unabated. These OFWs can be among those helping to boost consumption spending on basic necessities, including some amount of domestic tourism.

In addition to seafarers, those who can afford to stay more than two weeks for home leave are numerous OFWs who are service-oriented workers, such as caregivers and nurses in developed countries in Europe and North America. From my experiences in Spain, where I spent two years teaching in a business school in Barcelona, Filipino immigrant workers are so especially appreciated that they can normally ask for a month or more of vacation. Their talents, skills, and personal traits stand out in comparison with other foreign workers from Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

It is true, as some of the bloggers commented, that those who are home for the Christmas vacation should spend as much time staying with the family. Bonding with the children is especially necessary. But I would like to remind the married OFWs that one of the important suggestions of marriage counselors is for husband and wife to regularly spend time alone with one another, i.e. taking frequent second honeymoons. I would like to suggest to vacationing OFWs to consider spending time alone with their respective husband or wife to get to know places like Panglao, Dumaguete, Camiguin, Coron, Sorsogon, and numerous places to which they have not yet traveled. There are very cheap fares that the local airlines are offering.

The Philippine Nautical Highway is a much improved infrastructure connecting the major islands. A couple can drive from Manila to Batangas, then to Calapan, then to Panay and finally to Zamboanga using the ROROs and enjoying the good weather of January and February. Again, this has nothing to do with a consumerist lifestyle. I consider it as a basic need of married couples who need to spend time with one another, away from their daily worries and concerns.

Some of the bloggers misunderstood my reference to pasalubongs. I was not suggesting that you bring a lot of goodies from abroad to give to your relatives. In fact, you can buy practically anything you want to give to your relatives in local stores. And I do agree with some of the comments that your love for your family is not measured by the amount of goods you bring back home.

When I was talking about pasalubongs, I was referring to what you would bring back as gifts to your employers and other friends you have in the foreign places in which you work. There are already very well processed and packaged Filipino delicacies (such as those produced in Cebu, Bulacan, Pampanga, Ilocos Norte, Iloilo, the Bicol region) that can compete with Godiva, Nestle, or Cadbury chocolates. They can pass even the most stringent customs regulations of countries like Australia.

I would like our millions of OFWs to be the first promoters of our local food processing industry which is already reaching world-class level, thanks among others to the efforts of the Department of Science and Technology to modernize the processing and packaging of our traditional delicacies like the chicharon, pastillas de leche, pili nuts, dried mangoes, etc. The Philippine food manufacturing industry will go from strength to strength and will not go the way of other manufacturing sectors that have collapsed because of the Chinese competition. An example of a world-class Filipino brand is Oishi that has a very strong presence in China and some Southeast Asian countries.

The first quarter of 2010 will see faster growth in GDP also because of the expected election-related spending. Together with the continuing strong remittances from abroad, these expenditures will boost private consumption spending which will remain to be the main engine of growth for at least the first half of 2010. If we are able to elect a very credible set of leaders in May 2010, the second semester of 2010 can also be boosted by strong inflows of foreign direct investments, especially in such sectors as mining, infrastructure and energy, tourism and business process outsourcing. - Dr. Bernardo Villegas, INQUIRER.net, December 15, 2009

Filipino survives shipwreck in north Lebanon

TRIPOLI, Lebanon—A Filipino was the 40th survivor found on Saturday from a ship which sank in rough seas off northern Lebanon two days earlier, even as officials said hope was fading of any more rescues.

The latest survivor, a Filipino, was recovered near Syria's Mediterranean coast further north, bringing to 40 the number of people rescued, with 11 dead bodies also found, as search efforts continued.

"Syrian authorities found a survivor off the coast of Tartus aboard a raft, a Philippines national named Wilson Vincent," port authority chief Ahmad Tamer told AFP in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

"We have checked and his name was on the list. His condition is stable."

But Tamer added that hope of finding any others was fading.

Rescue teams have been battling rough conditions in the hunt for survivors from the Danny F II, a freighter carrying 82 people which went down in a storm on Thursday with its British captain among those believed to have drowned.

The search "is ongoing, but we've covered our waters, and sadly there don't seem to be any signs of more survivors or bodies," a Lebanese military spokesman told AFP on Saturday.

Lebanese vessels with a medical crew and three boats of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) have taken part in the extended search. Syrian boats were also involved, as was a British helicopter from Cyprus.

But officials were hesitant to say the 31 people still missing were presumed dead after two days of heavy winds and torrential rain.

"It's hard to say what we can expect, as nearly 48 hours have passed," said Unifil deputy spokesman Andrea Tenenti. "We will continue for the day and hope that we will be able to find more survivors."

The Lebanese Red Cross said the survivors in hospital were mainly suffering from "exhaustion, broken bones, and concussion."

Most of them were Filipinos, Pakistanis, and Uruguayan, the military spokesman said earlier, adding that a Russian, a Ukrainian, and a Lebanese were among those saved.

The Danny F II capsized during a storm about 11 nautical miles off Tripoli after sending a distress signal at 3:55 p.m. (1355 GMT).

It had left Montevideo on November 29 with a consignment of about 10,000 sheep and almost 18,000 cattle bound for Tartus, north of Tripoli, but was forced to change course because of the bad weather.

It was trying to reach Beirut when disaster struck, with the ship capsizing at around 7:30 p.m. (1730 GMT).

The ship's operator, Agencia Schandy, told AFP in Montevideo that it had a crew of 76 and six passengers—four Uruguayans, one Brazilian, and an Australian.

Survivors, soaking and wrapped in blankets, were ferried into Tripoli aboard UN boats on Thursday and Friday, an AFP correspondent said. Others were helicoptered to dry land, suffering from extreme exhaustion.

The storm had caused the vessel to "nosedive like the Titanic," 35-year-old survivor Nicholas Achard told Uruguayan radio El Espectador from his hospital bed in Tripoli.

"The ship listed 16 degrees. We passed around life jackets and within half an hour it had sunk," the Uruguayan said.

Another Filipino told rescuers that the British captain of the Danny F II, bound from Uruguay for the Syrian port of Tartus, went down with his ship.

"He told us that the ship's engine went down and the captain sounded the alarm and told everyone to jump in the water," a rescue official quoted the survivor as saying.

"He said that 10 minutes after they jumped, the ship overturned sideways in very high waves and sank with the captain still on board." - Omar Ibrahim, Agence France-Presse/INquirer.net, December 20, 2009

7 Filipinos in Lebanon shipwreck missing

1 dead, 13 rescued in December 17 incident

MANILA, Philippines—Seven Filipino seafarers on board the Panamanian cargo ship MV Dany F II which sank off the coast of Tripoli, Lebanon in the evening of December 17 are still missing, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

The DFA said the shipwreck also killed one Filipino seafarer. The names of the missing and the casualty are being withheld until their next of kin have been informed.

At the same time, it identified the 13 Filipino seafarers who have been rescued as: Danilo Policarpio, Wilson Vicente, Lezer Gepulgani, Michel Olivia, Edgardo Pucan, Jonathan Rada, Rafael Tarroza, Erasmo Galanza, Leolen Babao, Rogelio Dequina, Joebert Benoman, Jowey Quinto, and Jason Magsino.

The DFA said twelve are safely housed in Tripoli while one is in Tartus, Syria.

Charge d’affaires ad interim Mohd. Noordin Pendosina Lomondot of the Philippine embassy in Beirut is coordinating closely with the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants and the Lebanese Ministry of the Interior, it said in a statement.

Labor attache Nathaniel Lacambra and welfare officers are in Tripoli to extend assistance to the affected Filipino seafarers, it added.

The ship was on its way from the Uruguay capital of Montevideo to the Syrian port of Tartus carrying thousands of sheep and cattle when it was hit by Thursday night’s storm and altered course for Lebanon. - INQUIRER.net, December 21, 2009

Kidnap-prone Filipino seafarers keep remittances afloat at $2.5 billion

Amid the threat of kidnappings in the high seas, Filipino seafarers remitted a record $2.502 billion from January to September this year, the Trade Union of the Philippines (TUCP) said.

The increase in remittances is attributed to the rising enlistment of Filipinos in the world’s ships, TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera said Tuesday.

“Foreign employers find Filipino sailors quick learners, and easier to train compared to other nationals," Herrera added.

According to him, several European and Asian shipping firms have disbanded their multinational crews to replace them with all-Filipino personnel.

Filipino seafarers from all major destination ports in the world have increased their remittances this year.

Remittances from Filipino seafarers in Norway soared by 110 percent to $229.551 from $109.079 million from the same period last year.

Filipinos from Japan also boosted their remittances 57 percent to $222.505 million from $141.886 million last year.

Double to triple-digit increases in remittances from Filipino seafarers were also recorded in the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Greece, Cyprus, Netherlands, Denmark, Oman, Hong Kong and Sweden.

These developments offset the 24 percent drop in remittances from Filipino seafarers in the US, which experienced a slump in the economy since last year.

But even the TUCP admitted that the continued kidnapping of Filipino seafarers in the Horn of Africa is a great concern to them.

About 67 Filipino seafarers remain locked up by pirates on five vessels in Somalia, while one is in Nigeria.

The TUCP renewed its appeal to the International Maritime Organization and the shipowners to repel pirates and protect seafarers.

Filipinos make up a third of the world’s seafarers, making them the most visible nationality in the world’s ships as well as the most vulnerable to pirate abductions. Some 229,000 Filipino seafarers are on board the merchant shipping vessels around the world at any given time.

Filipino seafarers’ remittances accounted for 20 percent of the aggregate remittances from all overseas Filipino workers in the nine-month period. - JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE, GMANews.TV, December 08, 2009

Skippers may have to stop recruiting Filipino crew

TWO-THIRDS OF WEST COAST FISHING BOATS FACED HARDSHIP AFTER LAST CRACKDOWN

Fresh fears have emerged that Scottish fishing skippers are to be forced to stop recruiting crew from the Philippines.

Emergency measures agreed by the Home Office in July allowed breathing space for Scotland’s fishing fleet amid a crisis which had threatened to leave it with severe crew shortages.

Two-thirds of fishing boats on Scotland’s west coast faced hardship after the UK Border Agency (UKBA) ordered all Filipino crew on inshore vessels to go home.

But the emergency measures and further steps taken by the industry in September, when fishing leaders secured an agreement on visas for Filipino crewmen, allowed recruitment from the south-east Asian country to continue.

Now, it is feared the situation could be about to change – leaving skippers at risk of losing existing crew members as well as an important source of industry-ready workers.

According to Mallaig and North West Fishermen’s Association secretary John Hermse, there are about 900 Filipinos currently working on Scottish boats.

Mr Hermse said they were making a huge contribution to the industry, bringing skills which were difficult to find in Scotland.

He highlighted the recent case of a west coast skipper who advertised locally for crewmen, only to be let down badly by all three people who took up jobs.

Two of the recruits lasted just a few days and the third just wanted the work to satisfy benefit requirements, said Mr Hermse, adding that none of the trio were suited for work at sea.

Mr Hermse said: “If recruitment from the Philippines is stopped, then a lot of boats will not have enough crew to go to sea.

“They will find it extremely difficult to attract and retain other workers.”

The latest fears are based on reports from recruitment agents in the Philippines who have allegedly been told that a UKBA crackdown is on its way.

But the UKBA insisted talks aimed at resolving the matter were still ongoing.

Jonathan Sedgwick, the agency’s chief executive, said: “We have been holding discussions with those involved in the fishing industry and devolved governments about how the health, safety and welfare of foreign nationals working in the fishing fleet can be protected and how we can ensure that they are not being exploited.”

“The viability of the UK’s fishing fleet cannot be delivered on the back of exploitation.”

Mr Sedgwick said it was “inappropriate to import unskilled labour”, especially while restrictions remained on some EU nationals.

He added: “The agency will enforce our laws and ensure that those who are in the UK illegally, leave.

“This tough action works alongside the points-based immigration system to safeguard the interests of local workers.”

Western Isles SNP MP Angus MacNeil urged the UK Government to put any planned changes on hold until the results of a submission to the migration advisory committee – making the case for fishing crewmen to be added to the Scottish shortage occupation list – are known. - KEITH FINDLAY, The Press and Journal, 18/11/2009

Pirates release 3 RP seafarers, 67 remain in Somalia

Nearly six months of captivity finally ended for three Filipino seafarers after Somalian pirates released them Thursday, following a "prolonged and difficult negotiation."

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it learned of the release from the local manning agency of the Antigua and Barbados-registered MV Charelle.

"The release brings down the number of Filipino seafarers being held hostage by Somali pirates to 67, on board five vessels," it said.

Based on GMANews.TV's tally, however, 68 Filipinos seafarers on board six vessels remain kidnapped in Somalia and Nigeria.

Somali pirates hijacked MV Charelle off the coast of northern Oman last June 12.

Citing the information from the agency, the DFA said the Filipinos are "all in good health" and that their repatriation is now being arranged by the vessel’s principal.

It added the rest of the crew, which includes seven Sri Lankans, were also released.

MV Charelle is now sailing for the closest safe port under the watch of a naval warship, the DFA said.

The owners of the vessel thanked all the crew’s families “for their faith in the safe return of their loved ones, their strength throughout this ordeal, and for their support for the company," it added. - JHU, GMANews.TV, December 05, 2009

Somali pirates capture Greek cargo ship with 16 Filipinos

Agence France-Presse, Inquirer.net
Posted date: November 30, 2009

ATHENS – At least 16 Filipinos were among the 28 crew members on board a Greek cargo ship that Somali pirates hijacked in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the latest in an increasing spate of such attacks in the region, Greek port police said.

The captain of the Maran Centauros cargo told Greek authorities by telephone that nine armed pirates came on board and directed the ship toward Somali waters, according to police.

All crew members on the Greek-flagged ship were in good condition, the captain told authorities. Aside from the Filipinos, the crew included nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and one Romanian.

Initial reports indicated the ship had left from Kuwait and was headed for the United States.

With the end of monsoon season last month, Somali pirates have resumed hijackings, attacking foreign merchant and fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean.

They have shifted their attention from the Gulf of Aden, where international naval forces have deployed to protect shipping there.

12 stranded Filipino seafarers in Greece helpless

INQUIRER.net
Posted date: November 30, 2009

MANILA, Philippines—The 12 Filipino seafarers stranded in Greece since July this year have not been paid their agreed salary, and live on dole-outs and the minimal allowance of food and water given to them by their employer.

“Our situation here is so difficult. Right now, our food is good enough only for three days and the drinking water is rusty,” said third engineer Jesus Hantic in a text message to INQUIRER.net.

He was reacting to a story that came out in the website which said that he and his fellow Filipino seafarers are about to be repatriated soon.

“We are in a floating prison,” Hantic said describing their situation on MV Aetea Sierra.

“We didn’t know that we would be going home because nobody has told us so,” he added.

The 11 others with him are: second officer Jose Cardenas, second engineer Gardner Monte, able-bodied seamen Constancio Cubay, Florvic Labaco, and GilJhun Moneva; Julius Cesar Flores; oilers Ricleand Camino and Wilfredo Ranara; second cook Primo Fernandico; and merchant marines Erolin Choing and Jerry Laride.

“We all want to go home. We demand our salaries and our back pay. We are now deep in debt,” he said.

Hantic also belied the statement of the Department of Foreign Affairs that Philippine embassy personnel in Greece have visited them and have looked after their welfare.

“We were visited by the embassy only once, by Attorney (George) Eduvala of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration,” Hantic said.

“Only Akbayan and Kasapi are helping us here,” Hantic said.

Ellene Sana, executive director of Center for Migrant Advocacy who connected INQUIRER.net to the seafarers, said the seafarers could not simply leave because not only are their travel documents with their employer, but also leaving the ship with its $11-million worth of cargo (20,000 of steel coil) would mean they have abandoned their jobs.

In a related development, Akbayan party-list Representative Walden Bello, who was in Greece for the Global Forum on Migration and Development, asked the Philippine embassy in Greece to “act decisively to rescue” the stranded seamen.

“Good publicity will not hide the fact that they have been sitting on this case for a long time at the expense of our stranded countrymen,” Bello said in a statement.

“The overarching issue that the embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs have to address is this long-standing issue of foreign employers abusing Filipino workers, depriving our seafarers of adequate pay, decent working conditions, and the benefits and privileges accorded to them by law and through international treaties,” he added.

OFWs: From belly of luxury ship to top deck

By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
Columnist / Writer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: March 12, 2009

FROM BOILER room to ballroom, from stage to spa, from poolside to pantry, from bar to fine dining. From the belly of the luxury ship to the topmost deck where one could see forever and behold the azure sea and sky of the Mediterranean.

Overseas Filipino workers (OFW) rule the roost, so to speak, aboard the cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas because of their sheer number and also because of their skills, talent, dependability and graciousness. Filipinos comprise about 60 percent of the 853-strong crew that is composed of 51 nationalities.

“Here I earn the combined salaries of four teachers and three security guards in the Philippines,” reveals Jerry Dioneo, 36, who works in the dining section. Dioneo who hails from Silay City in Negros Occidental has been on the ship for about three years and is on his fourth contract. Only the Filipino nationals, Dioneo adds, are compelled to allot and remit 20 percent of their earnings to their folks back home. This is stipulated in their contracts.

And what is work like on cruise days? “Every day here is a Monday,” Dioneo chirps as he replenishes the cornucopia of food for the guests.

Victoriano Camacho, 46, of Calamba, Laguna, has been with the cruise company for 16 years and is now the sous chef (assistant of the executive chef). He started out at the Nikko Hotel in Makati. Now he earns $2,600 a month.

$1.7 billion of the total $10.8 billion remitted by OFWs in 2005 came from the sea-based OFWs. The number of Filipino seafarers working abroad as of 2005, is about 250,000 or approximately 20 percent of the world’s total.

‘White List’

The rise in the number could be attributed to the inclusion of the Philippines in the International Maritime Organization’s “White List” of 72 accredited countries. Being on the list means the country has continuously complied with the standards required for competent seafarers.

Being a Filipino seaman or seafarer does not necessarily mean working in cargo ships sailing drearily on a gray sea and being cooped up, fighting ennui until land appears on the horizon. A good number of the sea-based OFWs work in cruise ships. These luxury liners cater to vacation-bound, fun-loving, adventure-seeking humans, people who work hard and play hard, or who just want to be out of reach and listen to the music of the ocean, heeding the cruise logo catchphrase that says, “Get out there.” One could also choose to get holed up in the ship’s library.

The three-year-old German-built Brilliance of the Seas belongs to a fleet of cruise ships of the Royal Caribbean International (RCI) that sails in Europe, North America and the Caribbean. It has a passenger capacity of 2,500.

The Filipino seamen and women working on board are there to help make good things happen. The job is demanding as cruises involve service, hospitality, food, fun, travel, safety and, most of all, people.

Earning from tips

Bar server Vergie Mompil, an education course graduate, has spent eight years working on several cruise ships. Her husband, Edwin Vicero also works in another cruise ship, Jewels of the Sea.

Those in food service are not paid the fixed salary rate that workers in other sections receive. Food and drink servers like Vergie receive only $50 per 12-day cruise but the tips (provided for in the bill) earn her about $1,000. Two cruises per month or more than ten cruises in a six-month contract mean a lot when remitted to the Philippines. “After six months, we go on a two-month break,” Vergie adds.

Vergie is stationed at the bar in the main lobby ballroom at the foot of a luminous stairway where guests in formal wear linger to chat or dance to music provided mainly by—you guessed it—Filipino musicians.

Vergie and her husband have a three-year-old child who is being cared for by two aunts. The couple is building a home south of Manila and planning for a hardware store.

Not everyone is in the direct employ of RCI. Hoffman Roscano, 27, married, works as a photographer of a photo agency that operates aboard the ship. He and several photographers have their hands full during formal dinners and evening activities as well as land tours. During special occasions, they set up a mini studio where guests in their glittering “Titanic” finery could go for a formal shoot. Guests snap up the photos the morning after. Roscano also receives commissions from the sales.

‘Better than 5-star salary’

Karen del Carmen, in her 20s, works as a beauty therapist in the Brilliance Day Spa operated by an agency. A tourism graduate of a college in Bacolod, she had a work stint in a hotel in the Philippines after which she applied in a maritime agency. The spa company hired her and sent her to London for training.

“Better than a five-star salary,” is how del Carmen describes what she earns. After every 12-day cruise she gets two days off. “It’s fun working here,” she says as she looks up from her desk in the spa’s lavender-scented receiving area.

Nights are busy for the musicians who play in different venues aboard the ship. John Neri, 24, regales the night owls with violin music. As a child he studied music under a scholarship program for the musically gifted.

Neri met his wife in another cruise ship. Married for four years now, the couple is building a house in Kalookan City.

‘Oye como va’

Although now US-based, Vicky Gallarde of Vicky and The Holding Company band still calls the Philippines home. It’s a rollicking night when the band plays for a crowd with itchy feet.

Vicky switches without a hitch from lusty “Amor, amor, amor” to a staccato “Oye como va” while husband Chris and the rest segue from rhumba to disco beat. The band is a ship mainstay.

The couple has a room for two of their own at the crew quarters. The standard rooms for two for the crew have TVs and computers with e-mail capabilities. The Filipinos also have a daily two-page news digest called “Philippines Today.” There is a bar as well as games and exercise facilities.

Edgardo Villarino, 42, studied music in the University of the Philippines and sang with the UP Concert Chorus. He is married with three kids. The Inquirer chanced upon Villarino playing soothing classic guitar music by the poolside.

He was in the Caribbean several months earlier and he remembers the day a hurricane blew around there. There are less “sea days” in the Mediterranean, he says, meaning, the ship docks often in tourist havens.

Selling the Philippines

On his fifth contract now, Villarino says their own families could enjoy cruise privileges when there is space available. And could the entertainers have some fun during the day? “If there are less than five guests using the pool, we could take a dip,” Villarino says.

He dreams of cruises on Philippine waters that could rival those elsewhere. “We try to advertise the Philippines. Subic is so beautiful.” He talks of an island in Haiti that Royal Caribbean had developed.

Great workers

Bill Brunkhorst, American cruise director who makes sure entertainment is at its peak, has only good words for the Filipinos. “They are so talented and they learn very quickly,” he says. “They’re great workers.”

The Greek ship captain Michael Lachtaridis, a seasoned sea voyager who has been sailing the seas for 33 years says he has been working with Filipinos since the 1980s. “They get along well with other nationalities,” he says. “They are very educated and they are a happy lot.”

Whether it is instructing on wine tasting, giving beauty massages, serving at formal dinners, making omelets at the buffet breakfast, playing music, snapping photos amidst the Greek ruins, ensuring security and swiping cards at entry and exit points, disposing garbage or keeping staterooms clean, Filipino seamen and women are doing their best. And why not a Filipino guest chaplain or morgue attendant?

The least seen

The least seen but perhaps the most important because they make the ship sail the distances are those who work in the belly of the ship or the engine room. The lives of those on board are practically in the hands of these experts in ship engineering.

The Inquirer descended to the grime-free hard hat area and met some of the Filipinos there. Jessie Hervilla, Estefanio Joel, Steve Flores, Ramon Cerio, Percival Dilag and so many more. Chief Junior Engineer Rasmus Norling of Sweden has only high praises for the men who are seldom seen on deck.

But life for the OFWs on board these cruise ships is surely not problem-free, as life anywhere is not. Are the OFWs on these so-called floating four-star, five-star hotels better off than their counterparts in cargo ships and oil tankers? What lies beyond those glittering nights and sunny days at sea? What awaits them in their homeland? What awaits Edward Pampis, Joselito Benito, Cipertino Apil, Arlene Salon, Susan Gatmaitan, Arthur Pernia, Julius, Mijares, Juanito Embolori, Edwin Miranda, Enrico Sabido, Victor Amuyang, Ronaldo Carreon, Ernita Villanueva, George Tardo, Joselito Benito…

Don’t they feel resentful when they see food and drink flowing endlessly, people having so much fun and spending so much money for this kind of voyage, while they work so hard to keep these people thrilled and while the pine for home?

“Oh no,” says a food server without a tinge of resentment. “Many of them have worked hard too. And because of them we have our jobs. Someday we too could enjoy something like this.”

This Inquirer reporter was a regular paying guest on this cruise. The ship sailed from Barcelona and back and stopped in several key places on the Mediterranean coasts of Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

12 Filipino seafarers stranded in Greece to go home

MANILA, Philippines—Twelve Filipino seafarers stranded in Greece since July 2009 are now being prepared for their repatriation, the Philippine embassy in Athens said Thursday.

The Filipino crew of M/V Aetea Sierra sought the embassy’s help after negotiations with the Greek vessel owner for their unpaid salaries and damages failed. And the seafarers have opted to stay in the ship until their salaries are paid, per advice of a non-government organization.

“The Greek government stopped the vessel from leaving port because of unpaid cargo claims,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The embassy offered the Filipino seafarers assistance for their immediate repatriation and provision of shelter at the Filipino Workers Resource Center pending their repatriation. It is coordinating with the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency for plane tickets to be used for the seafarers’ repatriation.

The seafarers also filed a case against the vessel owner. Eleven of them have availed themselves of the legal services offered by the International Transport Federation to pursue the case against their employer, while a Filipino ship engineer is represented by a Greek lawyer offered by the embassy. - INQUIRER.net, November 26, 2009

Despite the Risks, Filipino Seafarers Toil in the World’s Oceans

MOST OF THE 2,100 passengers of the luxury cruise ship SS Norway were probably still asleep when it docked in Miami in the wee hours of the morning of May 25, after a week-long cruise in the Caribbean.

But Ricardo Rosal, newly promoted as the famed cruise ship’s third engineer, was already at work, along with the rest of the crew. The first Filipino to be elevated to that rank in the Norway, Rosal, 51, had toiled for years as one of the ship’s boiler-room stokers. His rise in rank had meant a salary that was almost twice his $500-monthly wage.

Rosal was with the stokers when the boiler suddenly exploded that morning, waking many of the passengers. He and three other crew members were killed instantly, their bodies charred by the violent rush of high-pressure, superheated steam. No passenger was hurt, but several other crew members were seriously injured, with four more dying days later.

Today, almost two months later, Rosal’s wife, Maria Gracia, has yet to accept the fact that the father of her three children is dead. But seasoned seafarers just grit their teeth, knowing that the shipping industry is among the most dangerous in the world.

Despite a safety-conscious regime instituted over the years by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), maritime disasters such as that of SS Norway’s boiler room explosion continue to happen. The Philippines is the world’s top supplier of seafarers and one in every five seamen onboard international ocean-going vessels is Filipino. For this reason, the chances of having Filipinos among the casualties in any major maritime disaster are high.

In the SS Norway explosion, which is regarded as the most fatal cruise-ship accident in the United States in over a decade, seven of the eight who died were Filipinos, as were 14 of the injured, most of them suffering from burns.

Last month, four Filipino mariners also lost their lives in an explosion aboard the Maltese-flagged tanker Efxinos, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, while two others were injured.

Yet such tragedies have not daunted Filipino seafarers, who are eager to work overseas. The domestic shipping industry certainly cannot absorb them, and it pays far lower than what they can earn abroad. The government is also encouraging the brawn drain, not least because seafarers remit back to the Philippines some $1 billion every year.

Unfortunately, Filipinos are losing their competitiveness in today’s demand-driven global labor market. In the last few years, international ships have begun recruiting more seafarers from China and Eastern Europe. According to industry insiders, these mariners are relatively at par with Filipinos in terms of skills, but accept lower wages.

“We’re just one of the many labor-supplying countries,” says Ramon Tionloc Jr. a center director at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). “In the 1980s, we used to experience double-digit growth rates in the deployment of sea-based workers. It has shrunk since then. We need to sustain our growth considering that the Chinese have been very strong in the last two years.”

Long before the advent of the country’s overseas labor program, ships sailing international waters already had Filipino seafarers onboard. Between 1975 and 1999, the seafaring work force increased eight times, credited largely to manning agencies that were able to market the skills of Filipino mariners.

There are some 500,000 registered Filipino seafarers but only 200,000 of them can find work onboard international ocean-going vessels at any one time. The growth in seafarer deployment has also plummeted in the last two years. Some studies say this could be an indication that the Philippine ship-manning industry may have already reached a plateau.

Most industry insiders agree that the government has been hard at work trying to stave off the decline. In the process, however, local seafarers are being asked to trade off some benefits so they would remain globally competitive.

The most recent POEA standard employment contract for seafarers onboard ocean-going vessels, which covers those deployed from June 2002 onwards, is seen by some seafarer groups as a sellout. Lawyer Edwin dela Cruz, president of the International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC), says the contract only shows that the government regards seafarers as a commodity “whose entitlements need to be diminished so they can be marketable.”

Under the old contract, deaths or injuries need only to occur during the seafarer’s employment, which begins at the time of his or her departure from the airport or seaport in the point of hire and ends upon his or her return to the said port when the contract ends. As long as this was the case, few employers would even bother to ask about the circumstances of deaths or injuries. Claim payments were automatically remitted in two to three months.

Today the burden of proving that a death or injury is work related has been shifted to seafarers, who are at a disadvantage as they and their families do not have access to documents to prove their claims. Giehrjem Puracan, a lawyer pursuing seafarers’ claims, says, “The records are, in most cases, in the hands of the ship owners.”

The shift, others say, comes even as the shipping industry remains fraught with health and safety risks. Medical studies show evidence of an increased risk of mortality among seafarers, with ordinary crew members having higher mortality than officers.

The Research Unit of Maritime Medicine in Denmark, for instance, says the risk of cancer is high. Among those working in the engine room, the hazards include the presence of asbestos, mineral oils, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, organic solvents and exhaust gases. Crews on tankers are also exposed to airborne carcinogens like benzene and organic solvents that affect the nervous system. Other research, meanwhile, suggests an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases among seafarers.

From November 1998 to 2001, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)-Philippines recorded 367 casualties among Filipino seafarers, 66 percent of whom fell ill or met accidents, with 34 percent dying as a result of sunk ships, explosions and other mishaps. By the time it closed its Manila office in 2002, cases had almost doubled.

Since last September, the newly formed ISAC has received 140 seafarers’ complaints, half of which concern deaths, sicknesses and injuries.

But because of the POEA contract’s “work-related” clause as applied to claiming benefits for deaths, illnesses and injuries, dela Cruz says the claims process has become more litigious, allowing employers to question how the seafarers’ misfortunes are related to their work. He remarks, “It’s become a lawyer’s paradise.”

Puracan, for his part, says that beginning this year, the tack of manning agencies, which supply ships with crew, has been to argue the non-work-related circumstances surrounding the death, sickness or injury of seafarers.

This time, too, when the seafarers’ claims get approved at the arbiter level of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), employers are no longer as ready to offer a settlement, but are more inclined to bring the cases up to the Commission level, and even all the way to the Court of Appeals.

According to the POEA, though, what manning agencies are actually contesting are accident-related deaths and injuries resulting from illnesses, particularly pre-existing conditions that seafarers knowingly conceal. This is also a new feature of the POEA contract, and one that could not only disqualify seafarers from any compensation and benefits, but can even be a valid ground for termination.

“They are asking why they should be made liable for, say a cancer or diabetes case, which cannot happen in a month after a crew member goes on board,” says Tionloc who notes the prevalence in the past of sickness and disability cases entertained by the P&I (Protection and Indemnity) clubs that facilitate payments of claims from ship owners.

Ship engineer Nelson Ramirez, who is also president of the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS), says the legitimate claims far outnumber those that are not. But he also admits that there are cases filed by “professional complainants” dictated upon by “ambulance chasers.”

“There are really those who take advantage,” says Ramirez. “You choke while eating on the ship — is that work-related?”

“Any death, any injury is unfortunate,” says Doris Magsaysay-Ho, chief executive officer of the Magsaysay Maritime Corporation, one of the country’s largest manning agencies. “But it has to be accident-related. Yet what we have is a lot of deaths that comes from sickness. So how can you now be sure that a case is an accident-related or a health-related injury or death if somebody died of heart attack?”

That would have been the function of medical examinations, if administered strictly and extensively. Magsaysay-Ho concedes, however, that not every manning agency adopts these because some of the tests are very expensive. Some of the agencies therefore resort only to basic health examinations that are unable to detect pre-existing illnesses.

So, Capt. Rolando Cervantes asks, why penalize the seafarers who submit dutifully to any examination conducted by company-designated physicians? Cervantes argues further that the same doctors would not allow them to board a ship if they are medically unfit.

If Cervantes sounds bitter, it may be because he has yet to receive a sickness allowance after being diagnosed with hypertension and sent home in April. Under the POEA contract, hypertension is compensated only if it impairs the functions of major body organs. The 48-year-old grumbles, “It seems I have to either get well first or become disabled before I get anything.”

The casualties in the SS Norway tragedy did not face such disputes. The injured Filipino crew who came from Magsaysay were covered by a collective bargaining agreement, entitling them to benefits of as much as $60,000.

Under the POEA contract, however, death benefits are pegged at $50,000 plus $7,000 for each minor child, not exceeding four in total. But the Filipino seafarers who were killed on the SS Norway are entitled to more. The six fatalities from the manning agency C.F. Sharp Crew Management were also covered by a collective agreement of the ITF, ensuring $60,000 for each family, plus $15,000 for each dependent not older than 21 years but not exceeding four per family.

The Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), which operates SS Norway, was also willing to give each family $3,000 as funeral and burial allowance, instead of the $1,000 stipulated in the POEA contract, says C.F. Sharp assistant manager Aurita Milanco. The manning agency, however, decided to stick to just the regular burial allowance. This, says Milanco, was to avoid legal complications after a U.S. lawyer filed damage claims of over $10 billion in compensation against NCL in Miami, Florida, on behalf of the accident’s survivors and the families of those who died.

Another controversial amendment in the POEA contract says that once seafarers or their families claim death and disability benefits, they can no longer file damages for negligence or tort cases against a foreign ship. Seen by some as another concession to the ship owners, the stipulation runs contrary to the International Labor Organization (ILO)’s model receipt and release form for contractual claims which provides for the right of seafarers’ legal heirs or dependents to pursue tort and damage claims.

And while the stipulated compensation are very generous by local standards, they pale in comparison to those enjoyed by seafarers employed in, say, German vessels, who can get as much as $125,000 (crew members) and $250,000 (officers) in death benefits. Lawyer Puracan also argues, “Why limit the value of human life to only $50,000? If at all, shouldn’t the government be the first to allow workers more opportunities to improve their lot?”

Magsaysay-Ho, though, says, “While we can’t put a cap on human life, unfortunately, there’s no magic number that says a life is worth this much. There’s none. That’s not the way it works. There has to be a sort of cap on an employers’ liability or else people will be scared to hire us.”

“When there’s merit for payment suffering, the owner is willing to offer it so that the families can start anew,” she adds. “It’s a matter of discussing it. When it’s discussed directly there are no commissions by anybody. There are no legal fees.”

UFS’s Ramirez also warns against “ambulance chasers,” or lawyers who dangle the prospects of huge sums of money in awards before their distressed clients. Says Ramirez: “More often than not, they just make the seamen hope in vain.”

Last October, the SS Norway lost a case filed by a Polish engine repairman who suffered a back injury for working on the ship’s leaking sprinkler pipes 20 hours a day for a week. He was awarded $705,000 by a Miami-Dade county jury, which also found the cruise ship unseaworthy.

At least two other cases involved local seafarers. In February 1997, cabin steward Wilfredo Delfin of the cruise ship Royal Odyssey (now the Norwegian Star) apparently died by drowning. But NCL officials reported his death as suicide, and withheld his death benefits. Delfin’s heirs sued and won $120,000 in damages.

The NCL was also sued for its alleged failure to provide for the medical treatment of a bar waitress who suffered psychotic disorder while on board the Norwegian Crown. A $10,000-claim for partial disability has been awarded at the arbiter level. It is on appeal at the NLRC. - ALECKS P. PABICO, PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM