TITLE: Modern-day Seafarers: Reliable, Hardworking, Heroes-by-Chance

INGRESS:
Filipino seafarers face hardships and danger every day to transport the world’s good for all of us. They
keep their families – and their nation -- out of poverty.

TEXT
We take them for granted, but theirs are truly heroic jobs. And while this statement sounds like an
exaggeration, in many ways, it is true.

Being a seaman is a demanding job -- calling not only for technical skills, but stamina, sheer brawn, and a
deeply ingrained sense of safety. Mariners must also have a presence of mind that can be called upon in
an instant, at any time.

Many days – in times of difficult weather or when arriving or departing at port, for instance -- can be
very challenging. Times like these, seafarers can be found working 18 hours a day, their patience and
stamina tested to near-breaking points. Often, the physical demands alone are tremendous, because
shipping these days is 24/7. Thus, working hours for mariners are regulated by hours of rest – the only
industry where it is so – because the nature of shipping makes it is impossible to conform to the
standard eight-hour working day.

Mariners thus have to be tough and flexible. They should be able to work under all weather conditions –
in damp, in cold, in restricted visibility, in ice – although ships generally do try to avoid severe storms
while at sea.

They also have to be mentally strong: a mariner’s life is filled with chronic fatigue and overwork --
relieved only by periods of boredom and loneliness. Life on deck can be highly routinized because of the
need to ensure the safety and reliability of vessel equipment at sea. Shipboard organizations can be very
hierarchical, with ship captains truly the masters of their ships and the lives of their crew.

Meanwhile, seafarers spend extended periods at sea, without face-to-face human contact, aside from
that with their fellow mariners on-board. Those hired for deep-sea transportation can be at sea for
voyages that last for several months.

Facing Danger
Then there’s the danger. Carrying sea cargo is the second-most deadly job on the planet after fishing.
The threat of piracy still remains, too, mainly around the Gulf of Eden. There’s also the risk of collisions
and grounding: Every single day in the first five years of the previous decade, from 2000 to 2005, an
average of 18 ships collided, grounded, or caught fire. Every day, about two vessels sink.

“And while it is now more uncommon for modern vessels to suffer disasters like explosions, fires or
sinking, mariners must always be prepared for the possibility of having to abandon ship on short notice
if it collides with other vessels or runs aground,” notes Capt. Marlo Salayo, head of the Odfjell’s
Academy in Manila, which trains the officers and cadets that man Odfjell’s deep sea chemical tankers.

“A seafarer’s daily life is fraught with hazards, Capt. Salayo says, detailing these: “He risks injury or even
death from falling overboard. He faces the hazards associated with working on machinery, heavy loads
and dangerous cargo. Many shipboard operations like tank cleaning, hot work, mooring and anchoring
operations, and entry into enclosed spaces/cargo tanks are essentially dangerous operations.
But Salayo is quick to add that “effective international rescue systems, advanced emergency
communications and modern safety management procedures make mariners today safer than their
counterparts in the past.

Doing What Has to be Done

Still, it is a job that has to be done. Worldwide, about 90,000 vessels that sail the seas, bringing us 95 per
cent of everything that we consume. “In effect, the population of about 1.2 million seafarers are
transporting goods for the benefit for the world’s population of almost 7 billion,” says Torger Trige,
Odfjell’s Vice President of Maritime Personnel. “If that’s not heroic, then what is?”

“Facing danger, responding to the call of duty, fighting through adversity – all for the greater good –
aren’t these what heroism is all about?,” says Agnes Enesio, Vice President and Head of Crewing.

This is even more spot on for Filipino seafarers who comprise almost 30 percent of all mariners
worldwide. For many of them who come from the poor maritime communities in the Visayas and
Mindanao, their high earnings draw their families out of the poverty they’d been mired in for
generations. (Hyperlink Just How Much Can A Mariner Make?)

Filipino seamen have also been a major source of US dollar remittances to the Philippines for decades.
The amount of remittances sent home by sea-based Filipino workers in 2016 was $5.6 billion, down by
3.8 per cent from 2015. For decades, the money sent home by mariners made up the bulk – about a
third -- of the remittances from all overseas Filipino workers. Remittances keep the Philippine economy
afloat, through booms and busts.

This is heroic indeed. So much so that in 2010, Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, who was the secretary-general
of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at that time, described Filipino seamen as sailors who
were "unsung heroes" of an "unsung industry."

In fact the "international community should pay tribute to the Filipino seafarers" and to the Philippines
for their contributions to the shipping and international seaborne trade, Mitropoulos said.

Adventures at Sea
And if being a hero and earning well at the same time are not enough to attract you, consider the
adventure at sea.

Like artists, sailors, too are called by a Muse to the open sea and to the adventure of seeing the world,
Capt. Trige proffers.

“I started out as a seafarer at a young age and by 1999, I was Chief Officer with Odfjell’s chemical
tankers. Shortly after, I worked ashore in Rotterdam as General Manager/Port Captain and then later as
Project Manager in Odfjell Tankers,” recounts Capt. Trige. He now head Odfjell’s ship management and
its operations in Manila.

"I left my active career at sea some years ago, and I do miss many things about the seafaring life. Of
course there were many hardship and struggles, but these have faded over time. I miss the solid
friendships that are built nowhere else but on-board. And I miss the challenges of cargo handling and
tank cleaning – those were my favourite tasks.”

“When I say that chemical tankers are the most exciting ships to work on, I might be slightly biased –
however I maintain that stand any day,” he adds.

“The feeling of leaving port after a successful operation and just being underway with a
ship – I miss the life at sea,” says Capt. Trige.

SIDEBAR (hyperlinked to “High earnings”)

Just How Much Can A Mariner Make?

The ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) is an international trade union federation of
transport workers’ union. It promotes respect for trade union and human rights worldwide. If a vessel is
covered by an ITF agreement, the crew are entitled to an ITF wage.

ITF Standard Wage Scale (2012-2015)

No Rank or Rating Basic monthly pay (US$)
1 Master 4875
2 Chief Engineer 4431
3 Chief Officer 3147
4 1st Engineer 3147
5 2nd Officer 2521
6 2nd Engineer 2521
7 RO 2521
8 Electrical Engineer 2521
9 Chief Stew 2521
10 3rd Officer 2430
11 3rd Engineer 2430
12 Electrician 2168
13 Bosun 1616
14 Carpenter 1616
15 Fitter 1616
16 Chief Cook 1616
17 Donkeyman 1616
19 Pumpman 1616
23 Able-bodied Seaman AB 1447
24 Fireman/motorman 1447
25 Oiler/Greaser 1447
26 Steward 1447
27 2nd Cook 1233
28 Messroom Steward 1233
29 OS 1077
30 Wiper 1077
31 Deck Boy 867
32 Catering Boy 867
META:
Filipino seafarers are “unsung” modern-day heroes, facing danger and fighting through adversity to
transport the world’s goods for all its people, raise their families from poverty and boost the Philippine
economy with their remittances.

TAGS: Filipino seafarers, seafarers as heroes, deep sea transportation, merchant marine, Marlo Salayo,
Torger Trige, Agnes Enesio, Filipino seafarers salaries

SOURCES:
1. http://news.abs-cbn.com/global-filipino/06/22/10/%E2%80%98rp-sailors-unsung-heroes-
industry%E2%80%99
2. http://planetphilippines.com/migration/filipino-seamen-still-rule-the-seas-for-now/
3. Continuously learning, continuously improving. Interview with Torger Trige, VP Maritime
Personnel and Manager Oversea, Odfjell. Odfjell Quarterly. June 2017.
4. 170402 Critical Operations – General. 17 Shipboard Management Manual.
5. https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/id/181997/PhD,%20Helle%20Oltedal.pdf
6. http://www.itfglobal.org/en/global/

PHOTOS
Photo of Filipino mariner (please choose a handsome one)
Illustration/ Screenshot of Pop-Eye the Sailor Man