The glory and perils of ruling the 'Seven Seas'

[Lee]

Nice read.             Manila Times

Quote

 

 THE meaning of "seven seas," as in "sail the seven seas," has evolved from its original definition, which in the old days meant the major seas of the world that navies and explorers and navigators had to explore and conquer, occasionally annexing territories found along the way, for the motherland. Today, "seven seas" has a more mercantilist orientation, and it simply means the commercial shipping routes that vessels of all kinds and sizes ply in service of global trade and commerce. And in those routes, one specific country dominates the crewing of the commercial ships. In the seven seas, the Filipino seaman is king.

There are close to 500,000 Filipino seamen of various ranks, skill sets and pay grades with certifications literally stamped into a document called "seaman's book." That serves as the passport to work in inter-ocean commercial vessels, from 21st-century jumbo tankers to container ships, bulk carriers, specialized carriers and down to the smaller general cargo ships called in the maritime jargon as "trampers." Even if the Philippines is tragically a maritime country with no sizable commercial fleet of its own for the international trade, it is dominant in one thing: the crewing/staffing of these ocean-going vessels. Some Asian countries have been trying for decades to dislodge the primacy of Filipino seafarers in international shipping, but to no avail. No race, it seems, is better at seamanship than the Filipino.

The "glory" side of this dominance is primarily manifested in the huge remittances that the seamen send to their families year in and year out. And the huge impact of these remittances on the broader economy. Maritime schools and training centers, a subset of the huge economic sector, have been thriving due to the sustained demand for Filipino seamen. In some areas near Ermita, all the way north to the edges of Rizal Park, clusters of retail, copying centers and food establishments cater to the needs of seamen processing their work documents. The owners of some of the major ship crewing and training agencies have built their immense fortunes on the global demand for Filipino seamen.

If you were observant enough, you will know that part of the foreign direct investments (FDI) of some European countries in the country takes the form of investments in maritime schools offering sophisticated four-year courses on maritime science and maritime engineering. The European maritime interests that invest in the schools then recruit many of the graduates for European-flagged ships.

Today, the "glory" side is taking the backseat because most of the seamen-related stories have been about the tumultuous times, especially two current wars that have imperiled the lives and safety of our seamen. Because Filipino seamen dominate the international merchant marine crewing, it is but expected that when commercial ships run into trouble either at foreign ports or in the high seas — like when they are hijacked, arrested or interdicted — Filipino seamen are often on these troubled ships.

Like the grains carrier recently struck by Russian missiles in the Black Sea off Odesa that seriously injured three Filipino crewmembers, including the ship's captain. It was on a missionary run to move much-needed Ukrainian grain into parts of the world that urgently and badly needed wheat, and it was in neutral waters. But Russian missiles have no humanity. Not much information has been released by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on the missile-hit ship and its crew.

On November 19, this time in the Red Sea, the car carrier Galaxy Leader, with a complement of 25 seamen and flying the flag of the Bahamas, was hijacked by Houthi rebels and taken by the Hamas-sympathizing rebels to the Hodeidah port in Yemen. This is a violent militia group supported by Iran, and the hijackers said the ship was "Israeli-owned." The five Houthis were dropped by helicopter, stormed the ship, and ordered the captain to proceed to Yemen. The Galaxy Leader is owned and managed by a London-based group, and it was carrying cars on charter from a Japan-based shipping group when it was hijacked.

Of the total crew of 25, 17 are Filipinos. The Japanese charterer is pleading for the release of the ship and the crew.

On November 26, in the Gulf of Aden, the chemical tanker Central Park sent an SOS after a group of armed men tried to hijack the tanker flying the Liberian flag and with a cargo of phosphoric acid. The USS Mason, a US warship, responded and captured the five armed men who tried to flee the ship after the failed hijack attempt. US authorities believe the armed men are Somali pirates and not connected to the Houthis, the Hamas and Iran.

The Central Park figured in an attempted hijacking attempt days before the Gulf of Aden incident. This time, it was the Houthis who tried, but failed, to divert the ship to the same Hodeidah port where the Galaxy Leader was taken.

Two Filipinos have been confirmed to be crewmembers of Central Park.

There are maritime incidences involving ships manned or partially manned by Filipino seamen that are less scary, less vulnerable to being hijacked or hit by killer missiles. Like the arrest of commercial ships at certain ports of call, which automatically tie up the Filipino crews in the arrested ships and with nowhere to go. The most recent and most prominent of these arrests happened in mid-2022 and involved the livestock carriers M/V Yangtze Harmony and M/V Yangtze Fortune, sister ships owned by a Hong Kong-based shipping company. The Yangtze Harmony was arrested in Singapore over unpaid debts, while the Yangtze Fortune was held in Australia over the violation of port pollution rules.

In both cases, the shipowner abandoned the ship and the crew. The Filipino crewmembers of the sister ships were only paid their salaries and allowed to go home after several months aboard their abandoned ships through the intercession of the International Transport Workers Federation, or the ITF.

There is one thread tying all the vessels. They are all flag of convenience (FOC) vessels, which means they do not fly the flags of the countries of the real owners. They carry the flags of Panama, Liberia, Bahamas, the Marshall Islands and the many other small countries that generate income by registering vessels they do not own. FOC vessel owners pay their crew less than the standards of the ITF, and their ships are not afraid to venture into hazardous areas, ferry hazardous cargo, and sail through war zones. Filipino seamen, with their sense of adventure and economic needs, have been a good fit for FOC vessels.

 

 

The glory and perils of ruling the 'Seven Seas' (msn.com)

[Lee1154]

Informative article.  Thanks for posting.