071507-European ship loves all-Pinoy crew

July 03, 2007
Updated 12:15:59 (Mla time)
Volt Contreras
Inquirer

SINCE 2004, A EUROPEAN SHIPPING company has been hiring only Filipino crewmen for its tanker fleet, entrusting all its nine ships and their precious load to these "natural seafarers."

By 2009, Hellespont Corp. will have acquired 14 more vessels—still to be manned by "innovative, unflappable, lighthearted, and videoke-loving Filipinos."

There is actually only one "foreigner" on board a Hellespont ship these days—a Greek captain hired before 2004.

But the Inquirer learned from a grinning source that an alleged plot to turn him into a Pinoy was well underway, hopefully through the hearty meals served by the Filipino cook on board.

"Seafarers from other Asian countries are still catching up with the skills of Filipinos, their command of English, their problem-solving capability, the ease with which they adapt to new technologies," said Isabella von Bulow, a communications consultant for the shipping firm.

Bulow, a German based in London, was in Makati City last week for a meeting with the firm's exclusive manning agency, Manila Shipmanagement & Manning Inc. (MSMI).

As she had observed on deck or learned through various sea stories reaching her office, "Filipinos seem to be natural seafarers. They will still be smiling despite long months (off-shore)."

For sure, they may be homesick "but it hardly shows," she noted in an interview at the MSMI office.

No borders

It must be their "background" as a people, she said, the Philippines being a scattering of islands, its internal sea lanes serving as vast highways rather than guarded borders, good for honing a mariner's instincts.

"Mixed colonial influences" have long purged Filipinos of xenophobia, enabling them to make friends easily with foreigners or find their bearings abroad, Bulow further surmised.

Their combined Asian and Hispanic cultures have somehow turned them into the "most lighthearted" workers in the shipping industry, she added.

Hellespont ships have also had countless incidents where the Filipino crew, from the captain down, have displayed "ingenuity" in dealing with, say, technical glitches compounded by lack of spare parts, she said.

From the company's viewpoint, Bulow said, "it really makes sense to just have one nationality onboard. The teamwork is better."

An average of 25 Filipinos mans each of the nine Hellespont ships currently in operation, according to MSMI president and general manager Susie Detera. They haul mostly liquid cargo, like crude oil and chemicals. An intercontinental delivery from the Middle East to the Americas, for example, takes a month to 35 days.

The manning agency has been in partnership with Hellespont since 1988, but their all-Filipino hiring policy began in 2004.

Since 1988, the partnership has employed about 1,200 Filipino seamen.

A typical seaman's contract runs for six months but can be extended to a year, Detera explained.

Singing at sea

"To minimize boredom," Hellespont crewmen are provided onboard videoke and "video library" of Filipino and Hollywood movies, she said.

They mark holidays such as Christmas, New Year or Easter, or celebrate someone's birthday by holding parties on the boat, where it's no longer surprising to have "adobo" side by side with "roast lamb" on the menu.

Detera observed that, compared to 10 to 15 years ago, today's Filipino seamen are now "more conscious" about their conduct especially while on shore leave.

Instead of heading to the nearest bars and possibly wasting their earnings, for instance, they tend to spend their R&R more at Internet cafés, writing e-mails or chatting online with loved ones in the Philippines, she said.

Bulow said the company plans to continue recruiting Filipinos—and only Filipinos—as it expands its fleet to 23 vessels by 2009.

On its corporate website, Hellespont recognizes the Philippines as the "largest seafaring nation in the world." The 250,000 Filipinos now working on all types of ships have made "a hugely important impact on shipping and—by extension—world trade."

"The professional development of our Filipino seafaring colleagues is a continuous process and receives our full commitment. Their continued loyalty and dedication are our most valuable assets. And their safety and well-being our most sacred obligation," the company declared.

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