International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 3

Number 4

December 2009

475

1 INTRODUCTION

Working on board ships is becoming less attractive

for students coming out of the schools and colleges.

In the past, seafarers were paid better than their

peers on shore, and they had the opportunity to trav-

el across the world. However, both of these have

changed. The salary gap between seafarers and those

working on shore is minimal. With ports and termi-

nals located away from the city, and ships not stay-

ing at the port for a longer period, seafarers do not

have an opportunity to explore various countries ac-

cording to Mr. S. Hajara

(http:www.businessline.in/).

Several studies indicate that there is currently a

world-wide shortage of officers, corresponding to 4

percent of the total officers (16,000) and the predic-

tion is that by 2012, the shortfall will rise to

46,000(Kumar, 2007).

The shortfall of seafarers has negative impacts on

the shipping industry as a whole whereas both the

on- board and on- shore maritime related work posts

face manning problems that may directly threaten

the existence of shipping activity and the sustenance

of maritime know- how (Chaterjee, in Kumar,

2007).

Japanese shipping companies plan to hire 10,000

seafarers from the Philippines between 2008 and

2010. (http://www.gma.news.tv/). This was stated by

the president of the Philippine-Japan Manning Con-

sultative Council, Mr. /Eduardo Manese. He further

said that Japan will increase its merchant fleet of

2,223 as of 2006 to 3,000 by the end of 2010, and

further to 4,000 by 2015.

The same opinion was shared by Ambassador

Stale Torstein Risa of Norway during the two-day

International Maritime Conference hosted by

JBLFMU on January 29, 2008. He encouraged mari-

time schools in the country to give importance to

quality-based maritime education and training to

meet the demands of the global shipping industry.

Risa noted that most of the world’s global trade is by

sea and that globalization has entirely changed the

world’s trading patterns with new emerging markets

requiring more transport services than ever before.

Aside from the expanding off-shore explorations of

petroleum resources, the cruise industry also contin-

ues to grow. This entails a growing demand for mar-

itime workers. He further stressed: “I believe

schools should even seek to follow up and evaluate

their graduates’ employment experiences. They

should keep track of their graduates and to get feed-

backs after spending some time at sea and it would

A Noble Profession Called Seafaring: the

Making of an Officer

M. Magramo & L. Gellada

John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, Iloilo City, Philippines

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to determine the perceptions of the managers in the shipping and manning

companies in the Philippines and the seafarers regarding the nobility of the seafaring profession in the light of

the shortage of competent officers. It utilized the interview approach in gathering data. It was found out that

in other countries especially in OECD or highly industrialized countries, the youth today are no longer inter-

ested in the seafaring profession. Working on board ships is becoming less attractive for students coming out

of the schools and colleges. In the past, seafarers were paid better than their peers on shore, and they had the

opportunity to travel across the world. In the Philippines, it is still preferred by some students whose fathers

or relatives are seafarers. They have seen that the profession is financially rewarding and it is perhaps the

best, if not the only way to improve their quality of life. This study also looked into the perceptions and opin-

ions of the practitioners, the master mariners themselves who once also struggled in order to realize their

dreams and aspirations in life. Most of the officers interviewed believed that it takes determination and focus

in the job in order to be successful. Thus, students aspiring to become officers and ultimately captains or mas-

ter mariners must study hard, persevere and be disciplined to be able to overcome any problem along the way.

476

be a valuable input in determining if the level of

training is adequate, and even offer advice on job

satisfaction. ”

Given the shortage of maritime officers for inter-

national vessels, the manning industry is turning to

re-packaging what its players say is a “wimpy” im-

age of the Filipino seafaring career according to

Stene (in Alzona, 2008). It is on this premise that

this study was conducted.

2 THE PROBLEM

This study aimed to determine the actions and

measures taken by the different stakeholders in order

to entice the youth of today in pursuing a career at

sea. The perceptions of the various managers of the

shipping and manning companies in the Philippines

and other stakeholders, especially the seafarers, re-

garding the nobility of the seafaring profession in

the light of the shortage of seafarers was also looked

into.

3 METHOD

This study utilized the descriptive-qualitative meth-

od of research. It utilized the phenomenological ap-

proach, using an in-depth interview of the key in-

formants. The participants in this study were the

managers of the manning companies and the various

representatives of the owners of the shipping com-

panies in the Philippines, deck cadets who recently

disembarked after completing a one- year training

program on board and active seafarers occupying

management level positions on board.

3.1 Modes of analysis

3.1.1 Filipinos are excellent seafarers

The Philippines is number one (1) in the world as

far as seafaring is concerned. There is no other in-

dustry or profession the country that can boast of be-

ing number one. There are some personalities who

are number one in the world like Manny Pacquiao or

Lea Salonga, but in an industry or profession, no one

individual can claim being number one in the world.

Thus, in the office, the seafarers wear necktie be-

cause they feel that they are real professionals. So

there are reasons to promote seafaring profession as

a better paying professional job. It is better than

most of the professions we know. These were the in-

spiring words of Mr. Erickson Marquez, president of

several manning companies owned by his family and

a legacy left to him by his father, the founder of the

company. His appeal to the students: “Study! Have

an ambition! Don’t be satisfied to be able to go on

board ships only. Aim to be a captain or chief engi-

neer; your life will not be fulfilled if you don’t be-

come one. And you can only do that if you study.

And let’s get rid of the notion: ‘pag mahina, mag-

seaman ka na lang; pag magaling ibang profession(

“if the intelligence is below average, go for the sea-

faring profession, if above average go for other pro-

fessions).”

He added: “So how come we are not doing our

best to improve the quality of our students? Without

the seafarers our economy would probably suffer

more than what we are suffering now. Seafarers are

not given attention, despite the fact that this is the

profession that the Filipinos will dominate in the

years to come.”

Let us therefore change or re-direct our mindset,

let us treat seafaring as a very old and a noble pro-

fession.

3.1.2 A very old but noble profession

The statements by Mr. Ericson Marquez are the

same words shared by Mrs. Carla S. Limcaoco,

Vice-Chairman of the Philippine Transmarine Carri-

ers, Inc. She said: “to enter this career is a special

calling. Seafarers should not just do it to see the

world free or just earn dollars. They must do it be-

cause they believe in the value of the course. They

should remember that without ships where would the

world economy be? When you find something im-

ported in the supermarket, don’t you start to think

how it got there? It got there because of ships. How

do the cars of Japan go to Europe? How did the gold

from China get to the United States? Without ships,

the world economy would collapse. So when some-

body (sic) decides to be a mariner you become part

of a very old but noble profession. It is much more

sophisticated now because the level of education re-

quired is amazing. I sit here and listen to the compe-

tence requirements and berthing requirements; port

state control and flag state requirements. And I sit

there and tell my senior officer (she is referring to

senior deck officers in their company), you cannot

imagine how proud I am of you because one day, if

you decide to work ashore you can probably sit and

do what I am doing. I can never do what you are do-

ing, I have a great respect for what is it they have to

(sic) know. And so to me, it’s a profession that re-

quires a high level of education and it is a profession

that if you conduct yourself properly will give you a

very fruitful life.

According to Capt. Jessie Martinez, the president

of Global Training Systems Phils., Inc. “Students

should do everything, including motivating them-

selves.” He further adds: “They have to give it their

best shot. Don’t settle for the second best. Try to be

the best always. If you will do all these things, this

profession becomes easy. In this profession, there is

477

no glorious moment than the first day that you as-

sume the position of the master.”

Capt. Rainier Salcedo, 1986 graduate of

JBLFMU-Arevalo said that his profession as a sea-

farer earned him the respect of people both at sea

and on land. People in his community appreciated a

lot his little contributions that he shared to them.

3.1.3 A lonely but a challenging job

Any seafarer will find it difficult to work on

board. First of all we are far from our family. The

feeling of being away from your family and loved

ones is the hardest part according to Capt. Lopez,

even harder than the work on board ships. “But life

is in itself a sacrifice. So in order for me to provide

for my family….I have to work on board but I have

no choice because I love my family.” Capt. Lopez

added: “Being away from my loved ones is the big-

gest challenge that I have been confronted with. It is

a challenge to me as a human being for I have bio-

logical needs and must have a biological fulfillment.

Thus, when I am in port surrounded by beautiful

women, sometimes I can surpass it but at times I

cannot.”

This was also shared by Capt. Genona who con-

siders that being away from family requires a large

amount of patience to work efficiently. “It was diffi-

cult but because of training and motivation, I was

able to surpass such difficulties”. He overcomes

homesickness by concentrating in his work.

Capt. Rainier Salcedo, feels the same way. It is

not the work on board that he considers difficult but

rather, it is the feeling of being away from his fami-

ly. For him work becomes routine on board the mo-

ment that you (sic) have mastered it. He looks at his

work as a passion or an art. It is fun working on

board because he enjoys it and he doesn’t find it bor-

ing. He always looks forward that each day is a dif-

ferent day from the previous days. The challenges

that he encounters on board makes him a stronger

and better person.

Difficulty is a state of mind. Physically it is diffi-

cult; mentally it is very difficult, if you are not pre-

pared. But if you are physically and mentally pre-

pared and you know how to sort things out, then

everything is easy, and fun according to C/M Arse-

nal. This is something that a deck cadet must endure

and must fully understand in this profession. He

must carry on his shoulder a big responsibility when

he is on board especially when he becomes an of-

ficer. There are instances when he does not get

enough sleep in a 24- hour period because of emer-

gencies on board requiring everybody to be alert all

the time. He has to deal with the indifference of his

senior officers, and if he is not emotionally prepared

he will end up crying. But all these are part of being

a cadet aspiring to be an officer someday.

3.1.4 Adjustment with other nationalities

Most of the key informants interviewed admitted

they find it difficult to adjust with other nationalities

primarily because of language barrier, not to men-

tion the cultural differences. As a Chief Officer,

Capt. Lopez has to adjust to the culture of the Indo-

nesians who are Muslims. He found it difficult at

first because, in some instances, Muslim crew mem-

bers disappeared on the deck in the middle of the

work for they must go back to their cabin to pray.

Despite the fact that he was a senior officer on

board, Capt. Philip Genona still felt a certain level of

discrimination, because Europeans are feeling and

thinking superior. But he was not intimidated at all.

He simply told them that they were on board to

work, that their responsibility, which was to keep the

shipboard organization work, and being the officer

on board, it was his job to implement company regu-

lations.

For Capt. Rainier Salcedo, he never found it dif-

ficult to adjust with Japanese officers even when he

was still a deck cadet. Japanese are just like Filipi-

nos or other nationalities; some are arrogant, some

are good. Japanese people are polite people. It pays

to be courteous and respectful to everybody on

board, especially to the officers.

“What the hell is this company in the Philippines

It sends me a 51 year old ordinary sailor and a 20

year old third officer. What is this? A joke!” These

were the words that C/M Arsenal had to bear when

he was first assigned as a Third Officer. So he told

the chief officer that it is something that is not with-

in his hands and added: “I will do my job as much as

I can and I will prove to you I can do it.” Little did

he know then, that he was to face the biggest chal-

lenge in his career when the captain told him while

they were on the bridge: “You know, son I asked

from the company to send me a man; they send me a

boy. What do you think about this?” C/M Arsenal

who was third mate then replied: “Sir, I will prove to

you that this boy can do a man’s job. And if this boy

can do the job better, then shame for the man. And

then his captain said: “Yeah, yeah I have a third of-

ficer. The boy was able to meet the challenge of his

chief officer and captain because he was mentally

and emotionally ready even at a very young age.”

Capt. Derwin Limpiado never finds it difficult

sailing with other nationalities because he can al-

ways adjust. “While it is true that European officers

think superior over their Asian counterparts, they

cannot do otherwise (sic). If you are a Filipino of-

ficer and you have Europeans as junior officers or if

you are a Master and you have a European Chief of-

ficer, there is no problem dealing with them. All that

you have to do is prove to them your true worth and

that you completely know your job, then there is no

problem. Just stand your ground, and later on they

478

will just say sorry. And that is what is good with Eu-

ropeans, they know how to apologize when they

know they are wrong. Sometimes there are Filipinos

who will not even admit their mistakes. They will

never say sorry.

3.1.5 What does it take to be a cadet on board?

“Any ship officer before assuming the position of

a third mate must be a deck cadet first. As a deck

cadet aspiring to become an officer someday, he

must be mentally and spiritually mature. Mentally,

because he has to cope up with his studies and phys-

ically because he must be prepared for any challeng-

es that would require his physical strength and also

the spirituality to always have faith in GOD that HE

will never leave him behind and will support him in

whatever he does that is right.” These were the

words of Deck Cadet Lamasan when asked: “what

does it take to be a deck cadet on board?”

According to Cadet Lamasan, there were many

challenges that he had to face while he was on

board- one of them, the environment. “The first time

I experienced big waves at sea and the swaying of

the vessel whenever we encountered storms at sea

are some experiences I will never forget (sic). It is

difficult to get up and do my work… so that’s one

factor that makes the life of cadet difficult. Another

difficulty that a cadet will likely experience on board

is the challenge that the other crew member poses

against young deck cadets like us. But the training

that we had in the dormitory had really prepared us

for shipboard practice. In the dormitory we were

trained how to get along with other people because

anywhere we go later on, we will be encountering

people with different personalities, attitudes, charac-

ter, culture, beliefs and values. The training we had

prepared us physically, mentally and emotionally.

He wants students to study hard, persevere because

there is nothing easy. There is no goal that is easy to

reach. A student must believe that he is capable of

doing it, of becoming an officer, he could do any-

thing including the impossible if he has the determi-

nation.

For deck cadet Borja, a cadet, especially a scholar

of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, must

sacrifice a lot. “To whom much is given, much is

expected” he further stressed. “The company is giv-

ing a scholarship grant and it is also expecting a

good output from the scholars. To be an NSA cadet

aspiring to be an officer, you really have to sacrifice

and love the profession because if you love what you

are doing, then it will be easy as though you are not

working at all. There are a lot of challenges on board

that I have to hurdle; for instance, the company pres-

sure, second is trying to overcome fatigue because

there is this big issue about commercial challenge

whereby the company is expecting more so the peo-

ple on board are pressured. However, these are nor-

mal activities on board. As a cadet, I have to work

for 12 hours and it is part of the commercial pressure

imposed upon by the company on the crew… that’s

the least that I have to work sometimes even 16

hours to 24 hours.”(sic) There are a lot of pressures

and I was thinking about giving up, but then if I am

going to let myself be carried away by my way of

thinking, but then it is mind over matter.(sic) It’s

how you condition your mind. Although there are a

lot of challenges you will still be able to overcome it

with prayers and as much as possible, find some-

body to talk to. And after that, the problem is gone.

According to Capt. Derwin Limpiado, a master

mariner in command of one of the many vessels of

the Norwegian Gas Company, a cadet must have the

mind-set or focus of really becoming an officer, not

just because he want to be an officer but to know

what the job is of a rating. “How can a cadet become

an officer if he has never been exposed to the job of

a rating?” he ask? “How can one supervise the rat-

ings later on?” A cadet aspiring to become an officer

must know the rudiments of the job, the routine job

on deck, not just how to navigate. These things are

easily learned with the advent of computer technolo-

gy today. It will be difficult for a chief officer to su-

pervise later on if he himself does not know how to

tie knots or how to splice a rope.

An able-bodied seaman must be a good steering

man or helmsman, and a good look-out. It is not a

matter of memorizing the rules of the road, it will

always be there. (sic) There are books on board that

he can review from time to time. There are officers

who are always on the radar. They have become

technology dependent. The best way to navigate a

vessel is not through the radar or any other electron-

ic gadgets on board; it is done through visual obser-

vation through look-outs. See for yourself the situa-

tion, go to the bridge window, or if necessary, the

bridge wings to assess the situation. There are new

and young officers today who cannot even identify

the characteristics of lighthouses, bouys, etc. The

basics of piloting are still very helpful. A good steer-

ing man does not only look at the compass; he

should look at the ship’s head and then look at the

compass only to check the heading of the vessel. It

must be remembered that the compass reading is de-

pendent upon the ship’s heading. So a good helms-

man looks at the ship’s head and then looks at the

compass to check the direction that the OOW or the

Master orders to be steered.

3.1.6 What does it take to be an officer on board a

vessel?

As the bars on your shoulder board increase, the

responsibility also increases according to Capt. An-

gelo Lopez. “Since the position is already a man-

479

agement level, the chief officer is in-charge of the

deck department, and all the work in this department

is his responsibility. It is difficult to handle people-

more difficult than any task assigned to a chief of-

ficer. You have to consider people’s moods and deal

with their problems at home because it affects the

performance on board. You still have to deal with

individual differences. No two persons have the

same principles in life, the same work ethics, and as

a Chief Officer I have to understand all this. It is re-

ally a matter of accepting people as they are and

making the most of what they can contribute to the

organization on board the vessel.”

To be an officer, you must have the courage, the

knowledge, intelligence and the skills and most of

all you must have faith in GOD according to Capt.

Rainier Salcedo. “The three stripes on my shoulder

board representing my position as Chief Officer real-

ly is (sic) a big load or responsibility that an officer

(sic) must carry. As the cargo of the vessel is the

chief officer’s responsibility, stability and trim of the

vessel must be properly attended to. The life of eve-

ryone on board is dependent upon the hands of the

cargo officer, that of the chief officer.(sic) An of-

ficer, 2

officer or 3

officer on board must always

be alert especially during the time of his watch.”

Rainier also believed that the knowledge, virtues and

values that he had learned in school is a big part of

his being a captain today. He further stressed that a

student aspiring to become an officer must have the

courage and determination. He should aim to be-

come an officer, not just an ordinary or able-bodied

seaman. “When I took command as master of the

vessel, my fear was when I gave the order “Let go

all lines”. It was a controlled fear within me and a

temporary one. It was the signal that I am in full

control of the vessel. There is no turning back, the

ship will be at my complete disposition. It was tem-

porary fear because I know I have enough training

and everything went smoothly after that. I was able

to conquer my fear. Capt. Limpiado considers it as

his most frightening experience in his career as a

master mariner. After that brief moment of fear,

everything was normal and the feeling just subsided.

He had worked in a gas carrier since he was a se-

cond officer until he assumed the position as chief

officer at age 32, and a master mariner at age 39.

3.1.7 The profession is financially rewarding

“You will earn well. The higher you go up, the

more money you will earn. Why? This is because

captains are paid 7,000 or even 8,000 US dollars ac-

cording to Mrs. Carla S. Limcaoco. While they are

on leave, they are paid and the pay is more when

they return on board.” She adds: “I mean money is

being thrown to them like it is grown on trees. And

if you are done with your work at sea, you can come

ashore and there will be 10,000 jobs waiting for you,

here or abroad as superintendent, port captains, fleet

managers, general operations managers, crewing

managers, take your pick. So it is something that

will start from your position as a deck cadet to the

being a captain on board or ashore. It is a very spe-

cial career in that sense, but very noble. It is endur-

ing(sic) but very financially rewarding.”

The profession is indeed financially rewarding,

enabling the seafarers to help their families. Ac-

cording to one master mariner who had been to sea

for 13 years in this profession, he was able to help

his family financially, and he also provided some

revenue for the country.” Capt. Angelo Lopez also

said that it is also his ambition to see the world and,

being a graduate of a government maritime school,

he has an obligation to return something to his coun-

try. He disclosed that his family was financially

hard-up and when he started sailing on an overseas

vessel; he was able to help his mother who was rais-

ing the family alone for his father had long been de-

ceased.

Capt. Philip G. Genona, who just passed the

board examinations for master belongs to the new

breed of officers. He belongs to the 2

batch of the

NIS Class Project sponsored by the Norwegian Ship

owners’ Association. He chose this profession be-

cause of the background or his environment tells

him to. Living in a town with many seafarers who

are financially stable, he found himself drawn to the

seafaring career. Of course he considers that besides

the financial rewards the profession is giving him

personally, he sees himself as a contributor to the

worldwide progress of the trade.

C/M Arsenal believes that the job of a ship officer

is fulfilling and also financially rewarding. Filipino

seafarers today are well compensated especially at a

time when there is a world-wide shortage of compe-

tent officers.

3.1.8 On what students should do in order to realize

their dreams

“No influence from other people, your parents or

anybody else, could help you but yourself. You need

to have the determination, the focus if you want to

become an officer, and eventually a captain like me.

You have to become an officer by taking one step at

a time.” This is what a student must keep in mind in

choosing this profession according to Capt. Limpi-

ado.

Capt. Lopez said: “If you believe that you can

survive the difficulties in this profession, by all

means go for it. The seafaring profession is a noble

profession, and if you decide to take this course, you

must take pride to preserve the integrity of the pro-

fession, of the Ilonggo in particular and as a Filipino

in general.”

480

Capt. Philip Genona strongly advises students to

enhance their knowledge and skill in computers and

in both spoken and written English. “They have to

know where to source the prevailing maritime regu-

lations from and to get updates especially from the

internet because they have the responsibility to be

well informed. They have to be disciplined and to

take their studies seriously and must do well in class.

Cadet Lamasan believed that there is nothing easy

in this profession. “There is no goal that is easy (sic)

to reach but it is on (sic) oneself to do including the

impossible. One can make the impossible possible if

one has the determination.”

Cadet Borja says that there is a bright future in

the maritime profession. “I know that there are many

students out there who dream of becoming captains

in the future or perhaps presidents of a shipping

company and I want to tell them this: “Yesterday is

just but a dream; and tomorrow a vision, but today

well lived makes yesterday a dream of happiness

and every tomorrow a vision of hope. So look to this

day. If you want to have a bright future later on, you

must start right now. Anything that is started right

will end right. If you do good while you are in

school, you will also land a good job later on. If you

do good in academics, in reacting or inter-acting

with people, make yourselves ready to face the

challenges, I am sure you can achieve a lot in the

seafaring profession which has become a very lucra-

tive profession.”

4 FINDINGS

From the discussion, the following are the findings

of this investigation:

1 There is indeed a need to build the image of the

profession among the youth of today.

2 Some shipping companies are already doing

their part to build the image of the profession

by requiring their seafarers to be as presentable

as possible when reporting to the office. They

go through a process of orientation where they

are encouraged to become captains or chief en-

gineers not just mere crew members.

3 This is a profession where Filipinos excel in

and the chances are good for the country to its

position in the world as the number one suppli-

er of competent and qualified officers and crew.

4 The seafaring career is a noble and a challeng-

ing profession.

5 It is a lonely profession having to be away from

loved ones, but it is at the same time a very

challenging profession.

6 The profession is financially more rewarding

than any other profession.

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