by Barista Uno | Jul 18, 2011 | Manning and Training
Frankie, part of our small battalion of housecats, looks rather pensive. Is he thinking about the EU threat to ban Filipino seamen? Not a bit. Like most crewing executives, Frankie hasn’t seen the complete European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) report on the Philippines’ STCW deficiencies. And why should he be bothered? Local maritime bureaucrats and other humans think the EU can ill afford such a drastic move given its potential impact on EU shipping. No, Filipino seamen will continue to work and sweat it out on EU-flag ships and be able to feed their families. Frankie shan’t starve either. He’ll get his regular supply of cat food plus an occasional treat of Kentucky Fried Chicken. ~Barista Uno
by Barista Uno | May 26, 2011 | Manning and Training
Some brickbats were thrown at us for our commentary last week on the Philippines’ manning, training and crew certification system (‘Inside the Filipino seafarer factory‘). One reader even said we had a low regard for Filipinos. That kind of obtuse comment misses the whole point of the article – that not all’s well with the seafarer factory and a major housecleaning is in order. Now comes the European Commission (EC) poised to withdraw recognition of STCW certificates issued by the Philippines unless a number of outstanding deficiencies in the system are remedied. We feel vindicated. (more…)
by Barista Uno | May 18, 2011 | Marine Accidents and Safety, Nature and the Environment
Why did the Panamanian-flag Double Prosperity run aground on 8th May 2011 in – of all places – Sarangani Bay in Mindanao, the southern Philippines? The 2005-built, 225m bulk carrier, managed by Yano Kaiun Co Ltd of Japan, was supposed to be India-bound from Australia laden with coal when she skidded across Bakud Reef. (more…)
by Barista Uno | May 14, 2011 | Shipping
Local folks, including some maritime executives who should know better, never tire of saying the Philippines is a maritime country. It’s an archipelago, after all, consisting of 7,107 islands. Our curt reply to them: So is Fiji in the South Pacific. A small nation with some 332 islands, the Fijians have a tiny merchant fleet which the CIA World Factbook pegs at 10 ships, two of them Australian-owned. The Filipinos are not better off, a fact which stared us in the face the other day. (more…)
by Barista Uno | Jan 4, 2011 | Latest Post
The ancient Greeks consulted the
Delphi Oracle. Modern-day Filipinos, at least the more superstitious ones, turn to fortune-tellers plying their trade near the Quiapo Church in downtown Manila. No need, however, for Delphi priestesses or Third World soothsayers to see where the Philippines’ maritime industry is headed in 2011. The signs are all over the place. Here’s our forecast based on what we had witnessed in 2010 and the years before that:
(more…)
