Ship owners won't hire Pinoys with new POEA policy

MANILA, Philippines - A move by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) to let Filipino crew members of ocean-going vessels to disembark at the last port before their ship passes through a “high-risk area" is ill-advised, the leader of a Filipino seafarers’ group has said.

United Filipino Seafarers’ (UFS) president Nelson Ramirez told GMANews.TV on Tuesday that such a policy could discourage ship owners from hiring Filipino seamen.

“Kung ako ang ship owner hindi na lang ako maghi-hire ng Pinoy. Magulo ‘yan (If I were the ship owner I wouldn’t hire Filipinos anymore. That’s very confusing)," he said.

According to Ramirez, port authorities would not allow some crew members of a ship to disembark at a port other than its destination.

Considering that a third of the world’s seafarers come from the Philippines, Ramirez said a ship could be crippled if its Filipino crew start disembarking before it passes through a high-risk area like the Gulf of Aden .

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque had earlier said he would impose on Wednesday a resolution by the POEA governing board that would declare specific coordinates in longitude and latitude covering 516.8 nautical miles of Gulf of Aden entering the Red Sea as high-risk.

Roque explained that Filipinos would be given the option to remain on board the ship but if they choose to disembark on a port before the high-risk area, they would not face any sanctions from the ship owners.

Ramirez said the declaration of a high-risk zone in high seas is nothing new. In the early 90s, he said that a similar declaration was made during the Gulf War between Iran and Iraq .

He said seafarers get a double pay when passing through a high-risk area. “The declaration of a (high-risk) zone is better than a deployment ban," he added.

But the option to disembark would cause problems not just for seafarers and ship owners but for the Philippine economy as well, Ramirez said. - GMANews.TV

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