A refusal to observe ‘Day of the Seafarer’
I should be joining the rest of the world and making whoopee on the 'Day of the Seafarer', 25th June. But I won't. I will spend the day quietly and alone like the monk in Caspar David Friedrich's circa-1809 painting 'Der Moench am Meer / The Monk by the Sea' (pictured...
Crewing agents as money changers
All manning agents in Manila wear two hats: crew supplier and money changer. The second function is an incidental adjunct to the first. It is not wrongful or illicit per se, but it has given rise to a silent scam that has gone on for decades. Under government rules,...
Maritime reality ignored by Filipinos
It is high time that Filipinos looked at themselves and where they stand in the international maritime arena without blinkers. That may not be so easy because of their fixation with ship manning. But as the British writer, Aldous Huxley, once wrote: "Facts do not...
5 dangers of maritime writing
It has been almost a year since I last posted in Marine Café Blog. For those of you who were wondering, I was busy with my studies and working on my second e-book, 'Close Encounters in Maritime Manila'. With the new book out of the way, I can go back to blogging...
A cat’s opinion of the ‘Day of the Seafarer’
This Sunday, the 25th of June, is the 'Day of the Seafarer'. I thought I would chat with Frankie the Philosopher Cat and see if he's in a mood to celebrate. Frankie is not much into festivities, but you never know. The slogans and tributes to mariners have been so...
21 great quotes for maritime trainers and students
It would be ideal if every maritime training institution had a philosophy of education — a formulation of the whys and wherefores and the ultimate aim of preparing young people for a sea career and upgrading ship officers. But why bother creating some new doctrine?...
A thumbs up for ‘Maritime Double Shots’
This week Maritime CEO, the flagship of Singapore–based Asia Shipping Media (ASM), came out out with a review of my newly released e–book, Maritime Double Shots. It is the first public scrutiny of my entrée into the world of book publishing. To say that I was...
Plunge into maritime book writing
Yesterday I took the plunge and released my first e–book, Maritime Double Shots. It's a collection of aphorisms and reflections gathered from hundreds of articles posted in Marine Café Blog over the past several years. This little project was not motivated by any...
Ship manning and misplaced national pride
I find it strange that Filipinos take excessive pride in being the no.1 crew supplier for the world merchant fleet. If quantity alone matters, ordinary Indians should brag that India overtook Thailand in 2016 to become the biggest exporter of rice. But they don't —...
Prejudice and bigotry in the maritime world
One would think that there would be less prejudice and bigotry in shipping than in other sectors because of its international character. After all, merchant mariners travel a great deal. So do many maritime executives. Exposed to different cultures, they should be...
Labour Day tribute to housewives, not mariners
Today, the 1st of May, is Labour Day in many countries. I thought I would pay tribute to housewives instead of seamen and seawomen. Housewives are not considered part of the working class since they do not receive wages. The tools of their...
A cat on the environment, EU and other matters
It has been several months since Marine Café Blog last had a chat with Frankie the Philosopher Cat. Although he didn't have his favourite smoked oysters for lunch today, he was not, thankfully, more grumpy than usual. He was lounging about in the garden, looking a bit...
