Japanese shipping companies assured President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday that they will continue to hire Filipino seafarers to man their vessels as they thanked the Philippine government for supporting initiatives to improve the skills and expertise of the country’s sea-based laborers.
“The Filipino seafarers play a big role. So having all said, Filipino seafarers are essential to Japanese shipping industry. And so we sincerely and strongly hope that there will continue to be a steady supply of professional and well-trained Filipino seafarers to work alongside us,” Junichiro Ikeda, president of the Japanese Shipowners’ Association (JSA) and chairman of the Mitsui OSK Lines, told President Marcos during a shipowners’ meeting.
“We also expect that quality standard of the Filipino seafarers to continue to improve, as the Philippine government continues to work hard to achieve this,” Ikeda said.
The JSA sought the President’s help and assurance for the steady supply of Filipino seafarers.
For his part, President Marcos assured Japanese shipping companies that his administration will continue to work closely with them to ensure a ready pool of highly-skilled Filipino seafarers required by Japanese maritime companies.
“The JSA has the assurance of the Philippine government that we will continue to work together as a team, as partners, in ensuring that your requirements for more seafarers shall be met because, clearly, you care for them very much and they are in good hands while under your employment,” President Marcos said during a meeting with chief executive officers (CEOs) of Japanese shipping companies in Tokyo.
The President recognized and expressed his appreciation for investments being made by Japanese shipowners in maritime training schools located in Canlubang, Laguna and Bataan, recording 1,200 cadets per school per year.
According to the President, the hiring of Filipino cadets by Japanese shipowners ensures the sustainability of the country’s manpower resource pipeline.
“We welcome and look forward to these training investments from the JSA,” Marcos said, hoping other international shipping associations will emulate JSA’s example in hiring Filipino seafarers, as well as the continuing education and training given to them.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Marcos said, has recently created an International Advisory Committee on Global Maritime Affairs, which shows how important Filipino seafarers are to both the domestic and international labor markets.
DMW Secretary Susan Ople will also be establishing a Japan Desk at the Office of the Secretary to ensure faster communication and coordination between Japanese shipowners and land-based employers with the administration, the President said.
At the same time, he said the DMW, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) have been receiving direct guidance from the Office of the President on how to boost the competitiveness of Filipino seafarers and improve their maritime education and skills training.
Ikeda thanked the Philippine government for supporting the “very successful” operation of Japan-backed maritime training schools and facilities in the country.
Japanese shipping companies, Ikeda said, employ large numbers of Filipino seafarers, which the JSA president described as “very much high-quality seafarers.”
There is an ongoing love story between Japanese shipowners and Filipino seafarers that started during the time of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.
About 75 percent of the crew of Japanese ocean-going vessels is comprised of Filipino seafarers and an average of 6,600 Filipino seafarers per year are deployed to vessels with the Japanese Flag of Registry in the past 10 years. #
