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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 —...
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...
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...
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...
Unlike the ancients, modern man does not see Mother Earth as some kind of goddess like Gaia, the ancestral mother of all life in Greek mythology. He has de-mythicized her, reduced her to an object, a specimen, to be studied by scientists and exploited by corporations...
You can perish the thought of the European Commission withdrawing recognition of Philippine ship officers' certificates. No, it is not because the Filipino seaman factory is now in tip-top shape. The 28 European Union member states represented by the Commission have...
For sure, there are still some maritime journalists around who follow the old tenets of journalism. They take the time to gather information, cross-check the facts, interpret events and write news stories that help readers make sense of it all. But the maritime press...
