Vol. XXII, No. 95
Friday, December 5, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
The Economy
A SLOWDOWN in cargo shipping worldwide will likely cause a reduction in seafarer deployment in the first quarter next year, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said, citing projections of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
WORKERS in cargo vessels to be the most affected by slower global business. — BW File Photo
"For seafarers, they [IMO] can see a little bit [of a downturn] in the first quarter, but they would recover in the third quarter," Labor Secretary Marianito D. Roque told reporters at the sidelines of the department’s 75th year anniversary exhibit opening, without giving estimates.
United Filipino Seafarers president Nelson P. Ramirez said in a separate interview that there have already been signs of a slowdown in foreign ports. "There are 1,000ships that are laid off and anchored [in various ports abroad]. [Shipping firms in] Hong Kong, [South] Korea and Singapore are all saying that they will not hire right now," he said.
Mr. Roque also said seafarers already working in cargo and container vessels would be the ones most affected by the reduction in shipments expected by the IMO.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration last year estimated that there were around 226,900 Filipino seafarers deployed worldwide.
Of that number, 31,983 — about 14% — were employed in container vessels, and 10,754 — or 4.7% — in general cargo ships.
But Mr. Roque clarified that not all those manning cargo and container vessels would be affected, since there would still be shipping during the downturn and firms know that they have to have skilled crew when business eventually rebounds.
At the same time, the local shipping industry is advised to look beyond the momentary slump and address its weaknesses — particularly its chronic lack of ratings personnel who could qualify as officers — in order to position itself for a rebound later next year.
"[The IMO advised] us to upgrade skills and training of seafarers when the market is down because there would be an increase in the number of officers needed when the market goes upthat way, when the market is up, they can already be officers in the ships," Mr. Roque said.
Mr. Roque said the IMO has projected a lack of 34,000 officers until 2011.
But he stressed that officer training is costly. "It costs about P80,000 just to train to be an officer, and the many requirements of the [Professional Regulatory Commission] takes a long time. So, there aren’t many who train to become officers," he said in an interview.
The Philippines is one of the top four sources of seafarers in the world, together with China, India and Russia. —Emilia Narni J. David
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