The USCG (United States Coastguard) is one of the five armed service of the US. How does it connect to the maritime industry? What are there purpose and mission? Born Ready! That’s what it takes to be a USCG. It takes much courage being a guardian.

Hurricane is popular to all mariners. We know how devastating a hurricane can be and the readiness of a group like the USCG is needed. Guarding the coast of a country? It’s one of the most difficult duties of a coastguard. Knowing every movement within countries territorial waters takes much dedication.

Why they decide to be a Guardian?

Being a guardian isn’t as easy as it looks. You have to undergo certain trainings that will test you physically and mentally. It’s both challenging and rewarding. Apart from that, you have several opportunities after you’ve completed your training as a guardian.

The “Honor Concept”, the foundation of all coastguard cadets. Every cadet lives by it, and passes it on from generation to generation. It’s a way of life inside the USCG academy. After completing their training, Coastguard Officers have several careers waiting for them. This includes…

• Aviation
• Engineering
• Afloat Operations
• Marine Environmental Safety and Environmental Protection
• Law Enforcement
• Homeland Security
• Finance
• Intergovernmental Operation
• Personnel and Training
• Port Operations and Waterways Management
• Intelligence
• Communication

If you ask me, it’s one of the most adventurous jobs. A honorable and successful career, once you become a Coastguard officer.

“The existence of the Honor Concept as a fundamental basis for cadet relationships carries with it the implication that any person whose conduct demeans or offends this concept has offended the entire Corps of Cadets. Who lives within the walls of the Cadet Barracks reveres honor; honor is our duty!”
…US Coastguard

They employ civilians.

If you’re thinking that it’s all about military service, we’ll your wrong. The USCG academy employs around 250 civilians in various positions. This includes:

• Educators
• Athletic Coaches
• Administrative Support
• Laborers
• Instructional System Specialist and a lot more.

Do you have a personal experience being a USCG? Have you undergone an inspection by a USCG Officer? Every seafarer whose port of call is the United States undergoes an inspection by the USCG. We’ve seen it, experienced it, and know how they do it. To describe it, they know their job, and they’re professionals.

If you have any experience or anything you’d like to share about the USCG, feel free to post a comment. You are free to share your ideas here…

As you can see, there are several changes on the site. We have come up with a theme design that would give a much better look for it. Some of the old buttons and tabs were removed but many new were added.

You’ll be expecting changes on the blog site. We’ve included a job board for employers to post their job vacancies. On most occasions we receive many resume and CV (curriculum vitae) on our e-mail inbox. So we’ve come up with an idea of putting up a job board on the site.

It’s the idea that we’ve come up with because of the growing demand of people looking for a job. We’d like to encourage employers from every location to take part in this programme. It will come up soon and I hope it could be as successful as this site.

A new theme design

Most of you would normally ask why we change the design of the blog site and forum. I would normally answer it this way…

• It looks good
• It looks neat
• It is easier to read the text
• It is easy to navigate

And besides, it’s more attractive and pleasing in the eye isn’t it?

Partnership

It took a while for Pinoy Maritime to catch the attention of other groups and associations. But we are fortunate enough the USCG (United States Coastguard) noticed us. Being part of their awareness campaign to tell the public about what they do, how they do it, and how large of a role they play in the US Armed Forces.

So expect many changes coming up at Pinoy Maritime. It’s a new experience and something worth expecting. In case you have any suggestions, feel free to write and use our contact page or simply e-mail to contact@pinoymaritime.com. We’d like to hear from you…

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

The list of Philippine Shipping and Manning Companies provided in this article, and their information including their links would help a lot in finding what you need. This list connects to the previous related articles posted in the maritime category. You can subscribe for updates by using your email for free to get instant update about this post.

• INTERNATIONAL CREWING AND SHIP MANAGEMENT, INC.
  PENTHOUSE B 5F GEDISCO CTR 1564 MABINI ERMITA
  Phone: 5243326 / 5244285
  Fax: 5244298

• INTERNATIONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT INC
  GF(FRONT)2&3/F ISD BLDG 5439 CURIE ST,PALANAN MKTI
  Phone: 5501595/5501597/8331242
  Fax: 5519675
  Email: isd@isd-phil.com
  Website: www.isd-phil.com

• INTER-ORIENT MARITIME ENTERPRISES INC
  R608 611 613 & 618 ORTIGAS BLDG ORTIGAS PASIG CITY
  Phone: 6312724/ 6311226 to 27
  Fax: 6377992/ 6317214
  Email: inormph@pldtdsl.net
  Website: www.interorient.com.ph

• INTER-WORLD SHIPPING CORPORATION
  S502 GEDISCO TERRACE,1148 R.BLVD, ERMITA, MLA. ERMITA MANILA
  Phone: 528-0065/528-0209
  Fax: 528-0271
  Website: www.inter-worldshippingcorp.com

• IOLCOS MARITIME AGENCIES FAR EAST INC
  RM 701-A S & L BLDG 1500 ROXAS BLVD ERMITA MANILA
  Phone: 5249683 / 5249684/302125
  Fax: 5249685

• IONIA MARITIME SERVICES CORPORATION
  S-317,318 PALACIO GRANDE ANDA COR A.LUNA I`MUROS
  Phone: 5361424 / 3380708
  Fax: 5280297
  Email: ioniamanila@manila-online

• ISLAND OVERSEAS TRANSPORT CORP
  2F EASTGATE CENTRE NO 169 EDSA MANDALUYONG
  Phone: 5336101 / 5336102

• JDA INTER-PHIL MARITIME SERVICES CORP.
  2F&3F 4F GUIEB BLDG. 961 QUIRINO AVE
  Phone: 5365139

• JEBSENS MARITIME, INC
  2F HARBOR CTR II RAIL ROAD ST CHICAGO ST PORT AREA
  Phone: 5279980-88
  Fax: 5279712
  Website: www.jebsens.com

• KGJS FLEET MANAGEMENT MANILA INC (FOR WESTFLEET PHILS INC)
  6/F & 7/F RUFINO TWR 6784 AYALA AVE COR VA RUFINO LEGASPI VILLAGE MAKATI
  Phone: 7518860
  Fax: 7514494/ 7514492
  Email: gmg@kgjs.no / asr@kgjs.n

• KJCM MARITIME CORPORATION
  U-4&5 HARBER BLG, 505-507 BONI AVE, MAND. MAKATI
  Phone: 532-2671/532-5214
  Fax: 532-9114
  Email: kjcmmc_mnl@tri-isys.com

• KLAVENESS MARITIME AGENCY, INC.
  6F VNP BLG 479 P.GIL ST. ERMITA, MANILA
  Phone: 5236883/5238984/5218556
  Fax: 3021491/ 3021492
  Email: crew.operations@klaveness

If you find this post useful, write a comment. A comment means a lot to the author.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

The Maritime Industry consist a vast network of organizations and people serving on different departments, professions, and expertise. The majority of the persons in the key positions of the maritime society consist of persons who once work onboard the ship. They were masters of their own craft. The knowledge that they acquire for the past years will serve as the foundation of future mariners. But the big question is, will they share that knowledge to others.

The immortal deed

Sharing your knowledge to others is the extension of your immortality. Being a mentor takes a lot of responsibility. But as you see the person who followed your footsteps became successful in his craft, you will come to understand the happiness of being part of that person’s success.

“There is no use for experience, if it is not shared with others. And there is no real excuse not to share it”. - The Art of Dredging.

The Goal

Kennebec Captain created the “The Maritime Information Sharing Network” which promotes awareness to all mariners to share their knowledge to others.

“What is The Maritime Information Sharing Network? It is my way of encouraging other mariners to start actively sharing their experiences and knowledge on line.”

“If you are, or have been involved in the maritime world, afloat or ashore I encourage you to become active on the web. I have neither a good writing style or a good web design, yet, in a small way, I have managed to add my point of view to the on-line maritime community. I don’t do this out of love of my fellow mariners. I seek to improve my own understanding of my profession and to enlighten those shore bound.”

“The internet offers us powerful tools to connect and to communicate. Administrators, regulators and other shore-side personnel seek a better understanding of life at sea, other captains seek feedback from pilots and tips from other mariners including captains.” - Kennebec Captain

Have your say

We should not hesitate to share to others our knowledge. We should think of the future of the Maritime Industry. We need to create and educate competent mariners. Our experiences as officers onboard will make them more efficient. Skills are learned through experience. Our experience as skilled mariners will serve as the foundation of their success and the extension of our immortality. Write your comment about this article and be heard.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

The Ocean Waves, considered as one of the dangerous Force of Nature. A lot of people get fascinated with ocean waves and consider it as an adventure to witness such event. Mariners sailing the high seas experience a lot of this waves in the ocean. For new cadets, ocean waves can be considered as a bad experience. With all the rolling and pitching of the ship you can picture a lot of ideas in your mind how a person behaves once the ship got hit by the ocean waves. Knowing and understanding how ocean waves are made would most likely prepare you when you encounter it.

About Waves

“Ocean surface waves are surface waves that occur in the upper layer of the ocean. They usually result from wind, and are also referred to as wind waves. These waves may travel thousands of miles before striking land. They range in size from small ripples to huge rogue waves. There is little actual forward motion of individual water particles in a wave, despite the large amount of energy it may carry forward”. - Wikipedia.

Let’s make a simpler explanation of an ocean waves.

“Waves are caused by wind blowing over the surface of the ocean. The longer, stronger and further the wind blows, the bigger the waves will be”. - Mamashealth.

Types of Ocean Waves

Normal waves caused by the action of wind on the surface of the water and accentuated by the gravitational pull of the Moon.

Rogue waves, also called freak waves. Their exact causes are unknown but it is believed they may propagate from storms, high surface winds, subtle shifts in the ocean seabed, gravitational and magnetic variations in the Earth’s crust, and possibly an alignment of the planets and the moon that produce intensified gravitational effects. These waves can arise suddenly, can be more than 100 feet high, and can damage or destroy ships at sea.

Tsunami or sea waves, which are generated by large shifts in the seabed, usually as the result of an earthquake or explosive volcanic eruption. A special type of tsunami, known as a Mega-Tsunami can be caused by the action of a sudden landslide of large size into the sea, such as happened in Tulia Bay, Alaska, in 1957, that produced a 1,000 ft wave witnessed by several people including two on a boat who rode it out and survived. While an earthquake generated tsunami can reach a maximum height of about 100 feet at the shoreline, a landslide generated mega-tsunami can be any height, depending on the volume of water displaced by the land in-falling. - helium.

What causes Ocean Waves

“The winds cause waves on the surface of the ocean (and on lakes). The wind transfers some of its energy to the water, through friction between the air molecules and the water molecules. Stronger winds (like storm surges) cause larger waves. You can make your own miniature waves by blowing across the surface of a pan of water.”

“Waves of water do not move horizontally, they only move up and down (a wave does not represent a flow of water). You can see a demonstration of this by watching a floating buoy bob up and down with a wave; it does not, however, move horizontally with the wave.” - enchantedlearning.

The dangerous side of waves

Ocean Waves can cause fatal accidents. A lot of mariners lost their lives at sea by being washed out by ocean waves. We’ve heard news about sinking ships, man overboard, and a lot of ocean wave related accidents which can or cannot be prevented. We can control the ship but we cannot control nature.

Safety

We prioritized safety whenever we work onboard the ship. In cases of bad weather, the crew remains inside the accommodation and continue their work inside the safety of their ship.

• Remember to keep all weather tight doors closed.
• Monitor the changes of weather report on your weather facsimile. This information is necessary for you in order to plan your actions well.
• Prior to departure at port keep it a habit to secure all loose equipment onboard the ship. Last minute securing is the common cause of accidents on onboard the ship.
• Lashings must be checked and confirmed that it is within safety standards of tightness.
• Paints and chemicals inside lockers must be lashed and properly secured.

Video Footage

You can indulged yourself on the video footage of “Deadliest Catch - Waves”;

or you can watch this video “Heavy Sea” and see how the ship bends and react on ocean waves.

You can have your further reading about waves on this pdf.

Have your say

Ocean waves will always be a part of a mariners life. We see it most of the time and we spend a lot of time trying to enjoy it. A lot of sleepless nights can be blamed to ocean waves. How would you consider an ocean wave? Do you have an experience about ocean waves that you like to share with us? Write your comment and be heard or share this article to your friend. You can subscribe to my RSS for more updates.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

After a party or a typical house dinner you start cleaning the bottles of wine, liquor, and beer. Did you count how much you and your friends consumed? Let’s say you have a little boy or little girl who idolizes you. Would you indulge yourself to alcohol in front of them? Before a night duty or shifting of watches, would you drink alcohol and later jeopardize your job and the people around you? When is it time to say “enough is enough” or “I have to stop”?

About Alcoholism

Alcoholism, also known for its two popular term of disorders, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. Both disorders cause serious consequences, affecting an individual’s health and personal life, as well as creating an impact on society at large.

Alcohol abusers, or problem drinkers. These people drinks too much on a regular basis. Their alcohol use is self-destructive and can present a danger to others.

When a person becomes dependent on alcohol, the crossover from being an alcohol abuser to an alcohol dependent begins. An alcoholic creates a pattern of uncontrollable drinking, they already build up a tolerance to alcohol which over time requires them to drink larger quantities of alcohol in order to obtain the same effect, and they will usually experience withdrawal symptoms when they don’t drink.

Alcoholism as a disease

Alcoholism is a disease process, widely accepted among medical communities. Alcohol from problem drinkers can be cured.

“Alcoholism, also known as “alcohol dependence,” is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law”; as said by alcoholism.about.

“Disease theory of alcoholism is a theory based on the concept that alcoholism is a disease process”; as said by wikipedia.

The Signs and Symptoms of Alcohol Dependence

1. Neglect of other Activities - Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of alcohol use
2. Excessive Use - Alcohol is consumed in larger amounts over a longer period than intended
3. Impaired control - Ongoing, unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control alcohol consumption
4. Persistence of Use - Alcohol consumption is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely caused or exacerbated by alcohol
5. Large Amounts of Time Spent in Alcohol Related Activities - A great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to obtain, use or recover from the effects of alcohol
6. Withdrawal - Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking
7. Tolerance - The need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to feel its effects

Provided by alcoholism.about.

Effects of Alcoholism

Health and behavior effects - Short term alcohol use causes the following effects depending on the quantity of consumed alcohol:

• Loss of inhibition and impaired judgment
• Dizziness, blurred vision and slurred speech
• Uncoordinated movements and increased reaction time
• Unconsciousness and even death

Long-term alcohol use can cause serious health complications which can affect virtually every organ in your body. You can refer to Australian Northern Territory government site for the details. Provided by helpguide.

Alcoholism and the Ship

Consumption of alcohols onboard the ship is under certain limits and should be controlled. Every company must have a clear guidelines regarding the control of alcohol and drugs onboard the ship, as stated in the OCIMF guidelines.

“Company policy should provide for control of onboard alcohol distribution and monitoring of consumption. This policy should support the principle that officers and ratings should not be impaired by alcohol when performing scheduled duties.

OCIMF recommends that officers and ratings observe a period of abstinence from alcohol prior to scheduled watchkeeping duty or work periods. This may be either a fixed period, such as the 4 hours required by the USCG, or a minimum period of 1 hour of abstinence for each unit of alcohol consumed (refer to table 1 for examples of approximate alcohol unit conversions). Whichever method is used to determine the abstinence period, the objective should always be to ensure that, prior to going on scheduled duty, the blood alcohol content of the seafarer is theoretically zero. Officers and ratings should be aware that local regulations may be in place and where this is the case, it is recommended that these be strictly adhered to where they exceed these guidelines”. as said by OCIMF on page 2.

Cure for Alcoholism

A lot of hospitals and doctors can help you with the cure for alcoholism. You can check the sites like: alcoholism.about.com, alcoholismcure.org, or you can even check this book about alcoholism on googlebook. But the main point is not about indulging yourself first to alcohol then later on finds a cure for it. You should live an alcohol free life from the very beginning. A lot of contributing factors usually relates to alcoholism. Consider advertising as one of those.

“The advertising of alcohol, the marketing of alcoholic products, peer pressure and parental
influence all play a part in the level of alcohol consumption among young people”; as said by medical news today.

Treatments of alcoholism can lead to different complications and effects on your body.

“Many alcoholics have hypertension, and some receive anti-hypertensive medication, which can complicate their treatment for alcoholism,” explains Johnson. “Because topiramate can reduce drinking substantially and decrease blood pressure significantly, this allows one medication to be given instead of several”, as said by medical news media.

Conclusion

This article intends to give awareness on the effects of alcohol abuse. Accidents onboard the ship relating to excessive intake of alcohol leads to devastating results. Let us also think about our family that gets affected with our actions relating to alcohol abuse. Last but not the least; I’d like to share to you this simple poem:

“First a man takes a drink, then the drink takes another drink, then the drink takes the man.”

If you like what you read, tell us your thought and write your comment or share this to your friend.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

An Officer in charge of the Navigational Watch or Officer of the Watch (OOW) as we all know comprises the Bridge Team. On merchant vessels, the watch duty officer is always accompanied with a look-out who is also a helmsman. In case the officer of the watch is a newly promoted officer, he will be performing his duties on the bridge under the watchful eyes of the Captain.

What is the Officer of the Watch responsibilities?

• The Officer of the Watch is the Master’s representative and responsible for complying and executing the master’s orders.
• The OOW is responsible to the master for:

1. Safe Navigation of the ship
2. Safety of the personnel or crew onboard the ship
3. Safety of the environment and pollution prevention
4. Maintaining the required standards of good seamanship
5. compliance of COLREGS
6. Compliance with bridge standing orders and night orders
7. Keeping a proper look out at all times

• The officer of the watch must be familiar with:

1. Government regulations
2. International conventions
3. Bridge Standing Orders
4. Master’s Standing Orders

• The Officer of the watch is responsible for the safe navigation of the vessel even with the presence of the master on the bridge, until the time the master informs him specifically and in writing that he will take the command or the watch.
• The Officer of the watch should keep his watch on the bridge until properly relieved.
• He shall consult or ask the Master if he is in doubt of any interpretation or regulations or instructions, or if he has any doubts regarding the manner of which he is required to carry out his duties.

These are among the duties of an Officer of the watch. I’d like to point out something more about this matter, which I mostly notice on the bridge.

The role of the Officer of the Watch when the Master takes command of the ship

Most of the time I’ve noticed that some OOW would simply stand on the radar, drink a cup of coffee, but forgot the most important part of his job. You are on the bridge to check if the captain is giving the right orders on engine speed, rudder command, following the instructions of the VTS, and applying the COLREGS.

You are there to check that everything is under control. This also applies when the ship is under pilotage. Remember that the master has a lot of things running over his head. A lot of messages and telexes to send, and to answer. And you are the person that he shall depend on the bridge to achieve the safe navigation of the ship.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

Finding a Good Job is a little bit hard isn’t it? It takes a lot of your time and mental ability to decide, answer questions, and figure out whether or not you’re going to change company for a better salary and promotion. If you write in google.com about finding a job. It will land you to a lot of sites that would entice you to apply or would give you advice on how to find a good job. What could be the result of not having a good job?

The consequences of not having a good job

Of course if you don’t have a job you’d end up starving, naked, and homeless. If I would describe it in a more exaggerated manner. But on a lighter side, without a good job you would feel less confident, frustrated, and even depressed. You would feel as if your years of studies in a good university or college would mean nothing.

How can I find a Good Job?

You can use the internet as one of your valuable and cheap resource of a vast variety of directories, which could land you to a lot of job seeking companies. If you’re thinking whether I would give some “Tips” regarding “How to” find a good job, well I wanted too but there are a lot of site that overdo it already. I’ll just provide you the links to the sites that I find useful for you.

• How to find a Good Job?
• Finding a good job is merely a numbers game!
• How to Find a Good Job in 14 Days or Less
• Free tips on finding a job and keeping it

If you check it out you would find that it’s almost the same. So you decide for yourself whether or not you’re taking the right path in finding a good job or not.

What do I need to consider when looking for a Good Job?

As an advice to you, don’t just settle for a big company name or a big salary. When you look for a job, look for a good boss, a good working environment, a good and friendly relationship in the office, and a good working atmosphere wherein you would feel that you fit in. Good luck on your job hunting. Give us a comment if you like this article or you want to add more. We’d like to hear from you.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

Before we answer that question, let us know first what a Port State Control Inspection is. P.S.C. is the inspection of foreign ships in other national ports by PSC officers (surveyors) for the purpose of verifying that the competency of the master and officers onboard, the condition of a ship and its equipment comply with the requirements of international conventions (e.g. SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, etc.) and that the vessel is manned and operated in compliance with applicable international law; as defined by wikipedia.

It simply means that they check the ships whether or not the ship follows the standards of internationally accepted rules and considered safe. You can follow this link to understand further the meaning of Port State Control (P.S.C.).

One of the countries that I’ve been that strictly implements Port State Control Inspection is the United States of America, implemented by the U.S. Coast Guard. But as long as your ships meet their standards, you won’t have any problem with the inspection. You will be well informed as to the extent of the inspection and will be guided by your company, and agent at arrival US Port. You can check this link on USCG Maritime information Exchange for more information or you can simply visit their official site at uscg.mil .

Regional Port State Control Organizations are also established through the encouragement of the IMO and agreements on Port State Control - Memoranda of Understanding or MOUs - which are signed and covers all of the world’s oceans:

• Europe and the north Atlantic (Paris MOU)
• Asia and the Pacific (Tokyo MOU)
• Latin America (Acuerdo de Viña del Mar)
• Caribbean (Caribbean MOU)
• West and Central Africa (Abuja MOU)
• Black Sea region (Black Sea MOU)
• Mediterranean (Mediterranean MOU)
• Indian Ocean (Indian Ocean MOU)
• Arab States of the Gulf (GCC MoU (Riyadh MoU))

To recap it all, we do benefit from Port State Control Inspection. It just needs a little bit of understanding and motivation to our officers and crew to inform them the exact role and purpose of a Port State Control Inspection. There is nothing to fear whenever a Port State Control Officer(s) boards your ship. As long as you’re doing your job correctly and according to the international regulations.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

We can lessen accidents on the ship. As a personal opinion, the ship itself is a massive machine that when handled improperly, could cause a destructive effect on life, environment, and property. The working environment onboard the ship involves several hazards that could lead to fatal accidents if you neglect safety. Don’t be the next victim of an accident.

Many reasons affect ship accidents. Most of the time you would hear several report that says “Human Error”. If you hear this two words, which is self-explanatory; most people would clearly assume the accident that involves the officer and the master of the ship are unable of their job onboard the ship.

Causes of Accidents

If you dig deeper in the story you would understand the real reason these accidents happen onboard the ship. Let me list down some of the reason that might cause this accidents.

1. Lack of sleep - on such cases that a ship has 14 different ports of call in one day. Most likely a car ship. Fewer sleeps and more stress especially in areas like the English Channel, in which heavy traffic and poor visibility could cause fatigue to the master and the officers and crew.
2. Lessened number of crew - advancement of technology and multitasking jobs give way for owners of the ship to lessen the number of crew to earn more money. Including crew quarters of the ship that gets smaller to allow a bigger capacity of cargo holds or cargo tanks.
3. Strenuous Paperwork’s - with fewer time at ports, many inspectors, and a mountainous number of paperwork’s; you could just imagine how well round up a Captain and his officer to meet the deadline immediately.
4. Human Factor - this is self-explanatory and as mentioned a while ago, it contributes a lot in every accident.

“Leadership or lack of leadership may play an important role in an accident. The management style of the Captain often mirrors the organization which he works in, for better or worse.”
… forcetechnology

What can we do to prevent these accidents?

There are several ways to prevent these accidents, and significantly lessened the number of instance. With the existing rules that affects all seafarers; awareness can help reduce ship accidents. Resting hours of the crew are arrange to lessen the stress that causes many accidents onboard, either personal or ship related.

You may add more into these; you can simply send it to my e-mail or feel free to write a comment related to this article.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

With the new generation of seafarers and an increasing awareness regarding safety, we can consider the maritime industry as one of the safest job. With the implementation of ISM, reports are documented and signed by the crew onboard the ship. But to some extent, the reports that we read may or may not be an honest and straight report? How will we be able to know that we are getting an honest report? The extent of not getting an honest report could result to a serious accident in the future.

Reasons for not getting an Honest Reports

One factor for not getting an honest report is the so called “Self vested interest”. It can be self explanatory or can be simply explained as just write something that will not jeopardize the company or your career. A very bad attitude if you ask me, but this is a very common practices onboard the ship. Let’s give a good example regarding this. Consider reading “Near Miss Reports” and tell me whether you believe everything that is written there.

Another common reason is a strict officer. Let’s make a role playing game this time. Let’s say you are the lowest ranking deck crew onboard the ship. You have a very strict chief officer who never cares about his crew and only cares about the completion of his job orders. Would you care enough to report any unsafe catwalks, valves, machineries or anything that could cause delay to operations, or even a hazard to safety? I don’t think so; I’d guess you’d rather hide it so that maybe in some way that the Chief Officer or even the Captain would be blamed when a Port State Control found those defects that were not immediately rectified.

How to get an Honest Report?

• It’s simple, don’t mess around with your crew. Start treating them as professionals. Respect their rights the way that you’d like your rights to be respected.
  
• Give them the right attitude. A simple smile or tap at his shoulders could brighten up a day’s work.
  
• Tell them to be more open with their ideas and never blame them for somebody else’s fault. Remember that onboard the ship, we are a team, and we should start thinking as a team.
• Ask them their ideas on some task that directly involves them. By doing this, you’re making them more vocal and giving them self esteem.
• You can actually add a lot more into this. Write your comment if you want to add more into this.
  

The common mistakes of leaders which result for not getting Honest Reports?

• A strict and inhuman leader
• Blaming all of the mismanagement and defects onboard the ship to the crew
• The “I Know Everything” attitude
• Pointing to other person for his own mistake

What can we do to get Honest Reports?

We better start changing our own attitude first as a leader before we can change others. A simple example to this is when your cleaning you’re own house. You don’t clean the outside of the house first before the inside. You usually clean the rooms, the dining, etc. Then you start to clean your backyard, garage, and throw your garbage to the can.

As leaders we must take out that ego of “I know everything”, and start looking at our crew as a person with their own thoughts and ideas that sometimes surpasses us. We need all the help that we can get onboard the ship to function as a team, and being able to do that makes us a good leader.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

Stowaways are part of the normal life of seafarers. We always find ways to prevent stowaways from coming oboard our ship. A lot of reports were made wherein stowaways were thrown overboard by the crew or captain of the ship, and left to die at sea. A lot of reasons arise whenever we talk about stowaways. It usually relates to poverty and hunger that forces them to migrate illegally. Stowaways transport to different countries on different “stowaway cargo carrier”, if you’d like to call it that way. They would go onboard General Cargo Ship, Container Ship, Tanker Ship, and all other kinds of ship that you can think of. It can either result to a successful migration or they may end up being caught onboard the ship. The worst part of it is when they are thrown overboard.

How will you prevent stowaways

For years many countries and organizations, including the IMO were finding ways to prevent stowaways onboard the ship. They have call upon public authorities, port authorities, ship-owners and their representatives as well as shipmasters to cooperate in preventing stowaway incidents. They emphasize on regular patrolling within port areas and establishment. Special storage facilities for cargoes particularly susceptible to stowaway access must be continuously monitored by persons including the cargo entering these areas. You can use this stowaway checklist by “North of England” to help you itemize your stowaways checking.

What are the rights of Stowaways?

It’s like a punishment to seafarers whenever we caught a stowaway onboard. You have to give stowaway beds or room where they can sleep, you have to provide them food, etc. That is why a lot of stowaways were maltreated onboard the ship whenever they were caught. But they have rights and these rights should be respected. Let me quote an article from “The New York Times” regarding this.

“Immigration and Naturalization Service policy requires shipowners to detain, feed and house stowaways who request asylum throughout their asylum process, which can take months and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. This policy puts an unfair burden on the maritime industry to find a solution for a problem it did not create and has little ability to control. The threat of fines has prompted some ship’s crews to treat illegal immigrants harshly. But in severely under guarded ports around the world a handful of seafarers cannot possibly monitor the contents of the 2,000 to 4,000 containers carried on modern merchant ships. Seafarers are often placed at risk by the desperate acts of stowaways.”

“The asylum policy should not be able to force shipowners to become jailers, nor should it result in locking asylum seekers in prisons like common criminals. We need a process for according asylum to politically oppressed people, one that provides for screening and housing asylum applicants and does not delegate an imprisoning function to shipowners.” - The New York Times.

What to do in case you have stowaways

As mentioned above, you should treat stowaways with extra attention. The Captain or the crew will be responsible if something happen to a stowaway while onboard the ship. You must use diplomatic ways to deal with stowaways. Remember that they are onboard seeking refuge and they should not be maltreated.

You should never do the following on stowaways

You may probably hear about stowaways being thrown overboard. This kind of practice is not acceptable and it is punishable by law. If you remembered hearing a news about a “Chinese Captain” who allegedly thrown a stowaway while onboard a panamanian flag vessel. He was released after being jailed for five years at Panama.

“The stowaways were sent off the ship and left to fend for themselves at sea on two flat wooden rafts.” - The China Post

A related forum commented about a recent incident about a stowaway thrown overboard the ship.

“The stowaways were sent off the ship and left to fend for themselves at sea on two flat wooden rafts.” - Safety at Sea

It should never result to this kind of situation. As seafarer you must always remember “No one is left behind” and that includes stowaways.

Have your say

With all the mentioned information and personal opinion, what can you do to prevent this? You can either decide to do it the wrong way, or do it the right way when it comes to dealing with stowaways. But you should remember that it’s your conscience you are against with whenever you make the wrong decision. Write your comment and share us your opinion, let your words be heard.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

A cadet on a maritime school aspires to become a good seafarer someday. With his learned knowledge he strives to embark onboard a ship in a good company. Working onboard the ship for more than 6 months even up to 1 year gives him a chance to upgrade his profession and for possible promotion as an officer. After a few years of working onboard the ship he suddenly decides to stop and start to work on land. Nobody knows the reason why.

Why choose to work at sea?

Many seafarers are like the example above. A lot of reason may contribute to a person’s decision of becoming a seafarer. I can still remember the question that my Captain asks me during my cadet days. “Why you choose to become a seafarer”? I give him a quick answer, “I want to become rich”. He said to me that if every seafarer would give the same reason that I did, it would be a selfish answer.

“The reason that we choose to become a seafarer is to give our family a better life and to encourage other mariners to become good at their job as a seafarer”.

Those are the humble words of the captain that I was lucky enough to serve with. The life onboard the ship cannot be compared on the life on land. We do our job in a more difficult environment. We seldom see the land. We expose ourselves to different kinds of weather. We see the same person every day. We work with different types of people in different countries. We work under pressure. So why choose to work at sea? It’s simply because we like the challenge and the adventure behind our work.

Why quit your job at sea?

Various reasons contribute to the seafarer’s decision of leaving the ship. A lot of person consider it personal or work related reasons. Here are 10 common reasons why they decide to leave the ship.

1. They were given a chance to work in a shipping company
2. They had a very bad experience onboard their previous ship
3. They had a problem with their wife that leads to divorce and could not handle the problem, which leads to the decision of stopping his profession as a seafarer
4. They manage to find an alternative job in land with almost the same salary of his job on the ship
5. They were given an opportunity to work on land related to shipping and maritime industry
6. Their wife and family doesn’t want them to work onboard anymore
7. They were homesick
8. A member of their family died while they are still onboard the ship and this became a very bad experience that they can never erase from their minds.
9. They started a business and became successful
10. They won in a lottery

Is there an option to work on land?

There are a lot of options that a seafarer can work on land and quit shipboard job. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can become successful. It’s the level of success that you desire that matters. You can read the stories behind the seafarers who decided to quit shipboard job on this link.

Have your say

As a seafarer we always think of our future. We talk a lot about our retirement and how we’d like to spend it. Finding an option so you can quit your shipboard job in order to work on land would be a tough decision. You must prepare yourself to whatever circumstances that may arise. If you have any ideas that you would like to contribute or share to our fellow seafarer who plans to quit their shipboard job, you can write your comment and be heard. Share us your opinion so we could benefit from it too. You can bookmark this article for future reading.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

Minerva Marine Agency Inc., a duly registered and licensed manning agency of the “Philippine Overseas Employment Administration” (POEA) is considered as one of the fastest growing company in the Philippines.

The company started on the year 2000 with its fleet consisting of Crude Oil and Product Tankers, and continuously hiring competent officers and crew onboard their ship. Their principal company in Greece, “Minerva Marine Inc.” is continuously hiring competent Filipino seafarers to man their new ships.

Adding new fleet of Dry Cargo / Bulk Carrier ships to their existing tanker fleets, Minerva Marine is currently looking for interested qualified seafarers who wants to be a part of their company. They are in need of the following:

For those who are interested, you can send your resume through their email. Listed also below are the contact details of Minerva Marine Agency Inc.

• Address : 1250 G/F Jorge Bocobo St. near Padre Faura St. Ermita, Manila 1000 Philippines
• Fax : ( 632 ) 400-0817
• Tel. Nos. : ( 632 ) 400-0790 to 92
• Contact :Capt. Reynaldo M. Tomampo
• Email : minerva@pldtdsl.net

This is a paid advertisement of Minerva Marine Agency Inc.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

Every person wants to know his own history. Where he came from, the family that he belongs to, and the people that surrounds him. The same thing with a country’s history, everybody in almost all nations wants to know where they came from and what influenced their culture. In the case of the Filipinos, our history was hidden from us. From the time that the Spanish “Conquistadors” ruled the country for a hundred years, the history became a myth. A talk of the town, with no evidence to prove its existence.

The importance of knowing our history

Knowing our history gives us dignity, a reason to belong to, and creates nationalism on every person. History places a major role on the success of every nation. You can predict your success or your failure from the history of others. Knowing our own history makes us proud of whom we are.

What we should know

From the recent episode of the “Probe Team“, they featured a shocking evidence of our National Gold Treasures. Nobody really knows that it exists. Numerous stories from old people tell about it but no gold treasure to prove it. Another very popular story about national gold treasures is the Yamashita Gold Treasure, which also started from myth. As I stumble upon the article of Talkloud, I found out very important news regarding our long lost National Gold Treasures.

“So the story began there. On that time many of the old town folks are now longing to have one. They continue to dig in the area just to find some gold and get the same fate as with the first gold discoverer. Ok, now all the lucky ones got gold. It is a treasure but still it is part of our history. These gold relics are crafted hundreds of years ago or even thousands. We have the responsibilities to protect it and not to use it on our own sake but for the sake of our future generations”; as said by talkloud.

The effects of these discoveries

These discoveries can be the foundation of future developments. It only shows that our country was rich in culture even before the Spaniards came and conquered us. From different acts of war those cultures slowly disappears and from generations to generations the culture of other countries became influential. The history of who we are became a part of our text books and was not given importance. This National Gold Treasures is the proof of that history and we must take care of it.

Who has it?

The Ayala Museum has taken care of the National Gold Treasures, along with the Central Bank of the Philippines. These two institutions became part of history from the very first time they started protecting and preserving the gold treasures. The full video of it is posted at “Talk Loud“. You can check it out and learn more about it.

Have to say

Sharing your thoughts about this article can help inform us more about your opinion. Share your comments and be heard.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

The list of Philippine Shipping and Manning Companies provided in this article, and their information including their links would help a lot in finding what you need. This list connects to the previous related articles posted in the maritime category. You can subscribe for updates by using your email for free to get instant update about this post.

• HERNZ MARITIME SERVICES COMPANY
  2F MARINE CTR BLDG STA.POTENCIANA COR MAGALLANES INTRAMUROS MANILA
  Phone: 301-0241
  Fax: 301-0241
  Email: hernzmaritime@tri-isys.com

• HOEGH FLEET SERVICES PHILS INC (FORMERLY HFS PHILIPPINES INC)
  HOEGH BLDG. 4677 ARELLANO ST. PALANAN, MAKATI CITY
  Phone: 5518592 OR 96
  Fax: 5518698
  Email: HFSP@HOEGH.NO
  Website: www.hfsp.com.ph

• IMPERIAL SCANSHIP, INC.,(FOR:ASPA MANNING CO.,INC.)
  18F-E RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD FOUNDATION CTR 1680 RO MANILA
  Phone: 3032621 TO 24

• IMPERIAL VICTORY SHIPPING AGENCY INC
  S710-711 NOAHS ARK BLG,303 ESCOLTA,BINONDO,MLA
  Phone: 3751776/ 3751779
  Fax: 3751788
  Email: impvict@pacific.net.ph

• INC SHIPMANAGEMENT INC (FOR RIVERA INTL SHIPPING CORP)
  17F RAFFLES BLG., EMERALD AVE., ORTIGAS CTR, PASIG
  Phone: 9151348 TO 53
  Fax: 9151341
  Email: inc-manila@interorient.com
  Website: www.interorient.com

• INFINITE MANNING SERVICES INC
  R322&418 FEMII BLDG A.SORIANO JR ST INTRAMUROS MLA
  Phone: 5271625 / 5272844

• INTERCREW PHILIPPINES AGENCY INC
  R300,301&302 VIP BLDG ROXAS BLVD ERMITA MLA
  Phone: 5217536 TO 37/ 5260910
  Fax: 5230092
  Email: intercrew@gatewaynet.com

• INTERMARE MARITIME AGENCIES INC
  DONA SYJUCO BLDG TAFT AVE COR REMEDIOS MALATE MLA
  Phone: 5254643 / 5217812/ 53629

• INTERMODAL SHIPPING, INC.
  G/F CASA MARITIMA 651 GEN LUNA ST INTRAMUROS MANIL
  Phone: 5277621 / 5273632/ 52758
  Fax: 5273630
  Website: www.intermodal.com.ph

If you find this post useful, write a comment. A comment means a lot to the author.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

The list of Philippine Maritime Shipping and Manning Companies provided in this article will help you in finding maritime jobs and shipping jobs on different maritime institute or maritime companies. Their information including their links would help a lot in finding your desired career jobs. This list connects to the previous related articles posted in the maritime category. You can subscribe for updates by using your email for free to get instant update about this post.

• GLORIA MARITIME AND AGENCY INC
  RM.204 ERMITA CENTER BLDG 1350 ROXAS BLVD ERMITA
  Phone: 5264302/03
  Fax: 5264281

• GRACE MARINE & SHIPPING CORP
  SUITE 200 A&B ERMITA CTR BLDG ROXAS BLVD ERMITA
  Phone: 5267968 / 5267971
  Fax: 5250723
  Website: www.gracemsc.net

• GREAT MARITIME SHIPMANAGEMENT INC (FOR FAR EAST ASIA SHIPMGT. INC)
  4F(EASTWING)BMH CTR 3963 YAGUE ST MAKATI CITY
  Phone: 807-4951
  Fax: 807-3762

• GREAT PACIFIC SHIP MANAGEMENT COMPANY, INC.
  GF S-G MEZZ FELISA SYJUCO BLG.1872 REMEDIOS ST MALATE MANILA
  Phone: 5223563/5245346
  Fax: 5215368
  Email: greatpacific@pacific.net.ph
  Website: www.greatpacificship.com

• GREAT SOUTHERN MARITIME SERVICES CORPORATION
  INTERSEKT BLDG 5779 ZOBEL ROXAS AVE PALANAN MAKATI MAKATI COMMERCIAL CENTER MAKATI
  Phone: 832-9662/8329761/832977
  Fax: 832-9625
  Email: OPERATIONS@GSMSC.COM
  Website: www.gsmsc.com

• GULFA MARINE SHIPPING AGENCY INC
  *UNIT-I PERMARC BLDG 8219 SANT OS AVE.SN ISIDRO PQ
  Phone: 8297313/ 8297320
  Fax: 8296557

• GYRON CREW, INC.
  7/F FERGUSON PARK TOWER MH DEL PILAR COR. A FLORES ERMITA MANILA
  Phone: 5262050 / 5262051
  Fax: 5262059

• HANSEATIC SHIPPING PHILS INC
  2F & 3F POPE PIUS XII BLDG 1175 UN AVE COR COREA PACO MANILA
  Phone: 5238169 / 5238170
  Fax: 5246254
  Email: hanseatic@pacific.net.ph
  Website: www.hanseaticmanila.com

• HEAVYLIFT MANILA, INC.
  RM. 426 EBC BLDG PH 11 ORTIGAS AVE SAN JUAN M.M.
  Phone: 7220327/7269502
  Fax: 7220349
  Website: www.crewasia.com
  Email: hlmadmin@mydestiny.net

If you find this post useful, write a comment. A comment means a lot to the author.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.

Upon arrival at port a seafarer would normally finished his job and turn over his duties in order to go ashore. After a 15 to 27 days of voyage at sea, we normally get excited whenever we see land. Putting aside the idea of having a visa, a typical seafarer would normally ask permission to the officer in charge in order to go ashore. Imagine the disappointment of a seafarer whenever his shore leave is denied due to not having a visa. Why do they really require seafarers to have a visa? We only stay a few days or most of the time less than 24 hours alongside a port.

Why they require Visas

“Visa, a document whereby a duly authorized government agency gives a citizen of another country permission to enter the country or, occasionally, permission to leave.” - wikipedia. Fair enough don’t you think? But the thing is, we don’t stay that long on a country. It’s either we join a vessel, disembarked a vessel, visit a doctor, or go ashore. But since its a requirement, we better follow it.

Does visa benefits seafarers?

Implementation of visa on seafarers does not benefit us. I say this for certain reasons. Mariners travel around the world most of the time. It is difficult and often impossible to secure a visa while you’re onboard and suddenly you receive an order to go to a certain country that requires you to have a visa. Aside from the fact that it takes a lot of days to secure a visa just to change crew, it also became one of the reason for overstaying of crew onboard.

If you don’t have visa?

• What could happen to you if in case you suddenly get sick or you need immediate medical assistance? You would probably remain onboard awaiting orders.
• What if you’re contract has expired and you need to go home? You would probably stay onboard until you leave that country and wait for your chance to go home on another convenient port.
• What if there is an emergency, a family problem that forces you to go home? You would probably stay onboard and wait for the next convenient port that don’t require visa.

These are just a few of the reasons why. We can never really say what you and the others think about this. Our opinion varies differently whenever the topic about securing a visa arises.

Let me quote to you an article that Fred Fry wrote:

“The ILO formulates international labor standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations setting minimum standards of basic labor rights: freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labor, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work related issues.

One item that the ILO has under its wing is Seafarer Identification. Since seafarers travel around the world and don’t always know where they are going, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to obtain the right visa before arriving at a port. This is where the ILO comes in, with a Convention that sets the rules for seafarer identification to permit the movement of seafarers with limited restrictions/visa issues.

The old Convention was passed in 1958, and after the terror attacks of September 11, it was realized that an updated convention was needed. So in the summer of 2003 the new Convention (Number 185) was adopted and it came into force on 9 February 2005. There is just one small problem, the US does not like the new Convention. Specifically, they don’t like the following clause in the Convention:

Shore leave

4. Each Member for which this Convention is in force shall, in the shortest possible time, and unless clear grounds exist for doubting the authenticity of the seafarers’ identity document, permit the entry into its territory of a seafarer holding a valid seafarer’s identity document, when entry is requested for temporary shore leave while the ship is in port.

6. For the purpose of shore leave seafarers shall not be required to hold a visa. Any Member which is not in a position to fully implement this requirement shall ensure that its laws and regulations or practice provide arrangements that are substantially equivalent.

The problem here is that the US does require visas for seafarers wishing to go ashore in US Ports. In the past they used to issue Crew Visas that were issued to the crew upon arrival. This is no longer possible. Therein lies the problem. If you are a seafarer and you are coming to the US, you need to get a visa before you join the ship, especially if you plan on joining it in the US. Immigration won’t let you into the Country unless you have a visa. This Convention tried to eliminate the Visa requirement in the US or at least force the US to make it easier for seafarers to get a visa once here. - continues…

The ILO has been trying to get the US to commit to ratification of this convention with little success so far. I suspect that this Convention is all but dead, taking into account the reaction of congress in the DP World Port ownership issue. Imagine the furor in congress and the public if it is suggested that they sign up to an international convention that will result in seafarers from around the world (including North Korea and Iran) into the country without proper due diligence.” C185 Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 - fredfryinternational.

I’d also like to show to you one of the visa related news article by “Aftenposten“, a norwegian news paper that posted an article entitled “Norwegian seafarers not welcome on US land“:

“We feel we are being treated like potential terrorists,” Captain Tor Gisle Bjerknes told Norwegian daily newspaper Aftenposten.

“It doesn’t help if the person is European, a captain, and has had a US visa for years,” said Captain Otto Vollan on the Bow Fortune, another ship in the Odfjell fleet.

The seafarers say the restrictions violate bilateral shipping agreements and could even cause health problems — when a seafarer needs to visit a doctor or dentist, for example.

A new ID card is under development to allow seafarers to go on land worldwide without the need for a visa, but after five years of waiting, it remains unclear when the card will come into use.

The US has signalled that it doesn’t want to ratify the ID card, and so far only 13 countries have given it the green light. France is the only Western European country to have said yes to the ID card.

Have your say

Based on the above information, do you think that we should be granted the liberty to go ashore, disembark a vessel, join a vessel, and see a doctor without a visa? Does this kind of restriction regarding visa would promote safety for personnel onboard the ship? Will the “Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention” pushed through? If you want to share your opinion, write your comment and be heard.

Click Bloggers Guide for more topics/videos, or visit Pinoy Maritime Forum.