Pinoy Maritime

Alcoholism and its detrimental effect to you

chris — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:52:15 +0000

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

Neglect of other Activities - Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of alcohol use
Excessive Use - Alcohol is consumed in larger amounts over a longer period than intended
Impaired control - Ongoing, unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control alcohol consumption
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
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
Withdrawal - Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking
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.”

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Your Responsibilities as an Officer of the Watch

chris — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:50:27 +0000

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:

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

The officer of the watch must be familiar with:

Government regulations
International conventions
Bridge Standing Orders
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.

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What to look for in finding a Good Job

chris — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:48:06 +0000

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.

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.

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Does all ship benefits from Port State Control Inspections?

chris — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:46:50 +0000

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.

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Ship accidents that could have been prevented

chris — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:42:47 +0000

Accidents on the ship may or may not be eliminated but can be avoided or reduced. As a personal opinion, the ship itself is a massive machine that when handled improperly, could cause a very destructive effect on life, environment, and property. The working environment onboard the ship involves a lot of hazards that could lead to fatal accidents if you disregard safety. Don’t be the next victim of an accident.

What causes accidents on the ship?

A lot of factors affect ship accidents. Most of the time you would hear a lot of report that says “Human Error“. If you hear this two words, which is self explanatory; most people would clearly conclude that the accident that involves the officer and the master of the ship are incompetent of their job onboard the ship.

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

Lack of sleep - on such cases that a ship has 14 different ports of call in one day like a car ship specially in the English Channel, wherein heavy traffic and poor visibility could cause less sleep and more stress to the master and the officers and crew.
Reduced number of crew - with the advancement of technology, the owners of the ship would sacrifice to reduce the number of crew in order to earn more money. Including crew quarters of the ship that gets smaller in order to accommodate a bigger capacity of cargo holds or cargo tanks.
Strenuous Paperworks - with less time at ports, a lot of inspectors, and a mountainous amount of paperworks; you could just imagine how well round up a Captain and his officer should be in order to meet the deadline immediately.
Human Factor - this is self explanatory and as mentioned a while ago, it contributes a lot in every accidents.

“Leadership or lack of leadership may play an important role in the course of an accident. The management style of the Captain often mirrors the organization which he works in, for better or worse”, as said by forcetechnology on page 3.

To sum it up, put yourself in the shoe of a Captain or his Officers and Crew and start asking yourself if you are that close to an accident.

What can be done to prevent these accidents?

There are a number of ways to prevent these accidents, and significantly reduced the number of occurrence. With the existing rules and regulations that affects all seafarers; awareness is the key factor that greatly reduce ship accidents.

Onboard the ship, resting hours of the crew are arrange in order to lessen the stress that causes a lot of accidents onboard, either personal or ship related.

You may add more into these, you can simply send it to my email or feel free to write a comment related to this article.

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The common mistakes why we don’t receive a straight and honest reports

chris — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:40:48 +0000

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.

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Philippine Shipping and Manning Companies Directories - Part XI

chris — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:39:08 +0000

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

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

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The Deadly Life of Stowaways

chris — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:37:20 +0000

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.

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10 common reasons why seafarers quit shipboard job

chris — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:00:02 +0000

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.

They were given a chance to work in a shipping company
They had a very bad experience onboard their previous ship
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
They manage to find an alternative job in land with almost the same salary of his job on the ship
They were given an opportunity to work on land related to shipping and maritime industry
Their wife and family doesn’t want them to work onboard anymore
They were homesick
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.
They started a business and became successful
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.

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Minerva Marine Agency Inc.

chris — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:00:38 +0000

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.

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The truth behind the Lost Gold Treasures of the Philippines

chris — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:39:13 +0000

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.

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Philippine Shipping and Manning Companies Directories - Part X

chris — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:00:58 +0000

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

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Philippine Shipping and Manning Companies Directories - Part IX

chris — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:08:01 +0000

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

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A worsening problem with visa for seafarers

chris — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:41:21 +0000

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.

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Sharing some Blog Maritime Community Love

chris — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:01:16 +0000

Recent visitors from MyBlogLog Maritime Community interests me a lot. I encourage you to join the Pinoy Maritime community, meet friends with common interest, and be featured here at Pinoy Maritime. I learn from their articles and I also subscribe to there RSS feeds to show them my appreciation. If the topics they discuss interest me I often comment on it to let them know my opinion. This time, I want to give back my appreciation by featuring their topic here at Pinoy Maritime. If you want to be link back here, share some love by mentioning us in your post and link us to your site.

Featured Site

The Maritime Information Sharing Network - Kennebec Captain
Pinoy Maritime Review - Talkloud.info
Princess Of The Stars Capsized: Death Comes Early For Ferry Victims - gCaptain
China’s Growth - My Maritime Blog
A bad day for historic schooner groundings - Sea Fever
Blasting and prime coating of the hull - Stranded Mariner
Tropical Cyclone Avoidance - The Art of Dredging
Largest Aquarium of Japan: Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium - Marine Buzz
TESDA Offers Free Language Training - OFW Abroad
Korean War - Buhay Korea
Meredahsamudera

Related Site

China’s relative economic growth during the past 80 year - Michael Pettis
Maritime archaeology - My Life at Sea
Philippine graduates in the U.S. - Education in the Philippines Forum
Finland Gets an Ugly New Presidential Yacht - Fred Fry International
The Case Of The Fall From Grace - Maritime Accident
Mini pics of the day - Never Sea Land
7 of the coolest fire stations on earth - Deputy Dog
Three of a kind - Hawk Dog

Have your Say

By the way, Pinoy Maritime is a “NO-FOLLOW FREE Site“. So, whenever you comment here it’s an instant link back to your website. If you want to know more about it, you can check “Removal of Nofollow from Comment Section” which was featured by Pinoy Talk. Most blog are “nofollow”, so they are not giving out link backs to your site. But when I learned this from “Pinoy talk”, I manage to use the plug-in and share the links back to my commentator. Start commenting now and be heard.

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Philippine Shipping and Manning Companies Directories - Part VIII

chris — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:18:01 +0000

FOERDE MARINE AGENCY INC
9(B) 9F CHATAM HSE CONDO 116 RUFINO COR VALERO ST SALCEDO VILLAGE MAKATI
Phone: 8436056/8431003
Fax: 8436057
Email: crewing@foerde.com.ph

FOREIGN MANPOWER SERVICES, INC.
GF&2F 1769 DAPITAN ST SAMPALOC MANILA
Phone: 7315994
Fax: 7321528

FOSCON SHIPMANAGEMENT INC (FORMERLY ATLANTIC MARINE SVCS)
R505&509 BF COND BLG SORIANO AVE INTRAMUROS MLA ERMITA MANILA
Phone: 536-9395/536-9396
Fax: 536-9392
Email: AMSI@INFO.COM.PH

FRIENDLY MARITIME SERVICES, INC.
U-2701 ANTEL GLOBAL CORP CTR J VARGAS AVE ORTIGAS
Phone: 6874551-53
Fax: 6874554
Website: www.friendmar.com.ph
Email: friendmar@eastern.com.ph

GALANT MARITIME SERVICES INC.
S-1101&1102 ERMITA CTR BLDG 1350 ROXAS BLVD MLA
Phone: 5266888/ 5262087
Fax: 5261260

GERGON MARITIME SERVICES INC (FORMERLY MANILA TROPICAL SERVICES INC)
405 FIRST UNITED BLDG.CORP. #413 ESCOLTA BINONDO MANILA
Phone: 2439617
Fax: 2442689
Email: gergonmar@yahoo.com

GERMAN MARINE AGENCIES INC
G/F&2/F 3912 LUBECA HSE MACABULOS ST BGY BANGKAL
Phone: 8437720 / 8430423 or 62
Fax: 8430481
Website: www.german-marine.com

GLOBAL MARINE AND OFFSHORE RESOURCES INC (FOR SUNGLOW ORIENT ENT)
2FUC CHINA BNK BLG ACACIA MDRGL BUS PRK ALABANG MUNTINLUPA CPO MUNTINLUPA
Phone: 8077852
Fax: 9127025

GLOBE MASTER MARINE AGENCY INC
22BCHATAM HSE VA RUFINO COR VALERO ST SALCEDO VILL MAKATI MAKATI
Phone: 8866717/8866719/8866720
Fax: 8867724
Email: gmmai@ultimate.info.com.ph
Website: www.gmaster.com

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An easy way of learning knot tying techniques

chris — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:00:34 +0000

Knot tying consists of the techniques and skills employed in tying a knot in rope, nylon webbing, or other articles; as said by wikipedia. It requires skills of a seaman or commonly called seamanship, defined as the skills of a seaman onboard the ship. At school they usually teach us a lot of knot tying techniques. But we only use less than half of it. Learning the basics of knot tying complicates a lot of people. But once you get the hang out of it, you will find it less difficult to do.

The common knot tying used onboard

Bowline - is an ancient but simple knot used to form a fixed loop at the end of a rope. The structure of the bowline is identical to that of the sheet bend, except the bowline forms a loop in one rope and the sheet bend joins two ropes.

Clove Hitch - is a type of knot. It consists of two identical half hitches made successively around an object. It is most effective used as a crossing knot. Although it can be used as a binding knot, it is not particularly secure in that role.[1] A clove hitch made around the standing part of the line is known as either Two half-hitches or Buntline hitch, depending on whether half-hitches progress away or towards the hitched object.

Timber Hitch - is a knot used to attach a single length of rope to a piece of wood. This knot is easily undone after use.

Sheepshank - is a type of knot (or, more accurately unknot) that is used to shorten a rope or take up slack.

Square Knot - the reef knot or square knot is a common and simple binding knot.

Figure of eight knot - is a type of knot. It is very important in both sailing and rock climbing as a method of stopping ropes from running out of retaining devices.

How to do it?

I’ll just provide you the link to “You Tube” on video tutorials on how to make the knot tying of the following:

Bowline
Clove Hitch
Timber Hitch
Sheepshank
Square knot

Figure of eight

Conclusion

Now that you know this important knot tying techniques, I would recommend that you practice them and learn it by heart. I’ll provide you also with this pdf file on “knot tying manual” or you can visit “Animated Knots” as your additional source of information . If you like to say something about this post, you can write your comment and say it. You can subscribe to my RSS for instant updates on this article.

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Philippine Shipping and Manning Companies Directories - Part VII

chris — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:48:49 +0000

FALCON MARITIME & ALLIED SERVICES INC
RM404 DNA FELISA SYJUCO REMED IOS COR TAFT MALATE
Phone: 5262554 / 5241261 LOC.11
Fax: 5266553

FILIPINAS KALAYAAN OVERSEAS SHIPPING INC
3 MASCARDO ST.BGY.SINGKAMAS, L A PAZ VILLAGE,MKTI
Phone: 8959994 / 8961556

FIL-PRIDE SHIPPING COMPANY INC
SUITE 204 J & T BLDG 3894 R.MAGSAYSAY STA.MESA
Phone: 7160825 / 7160176

FIL-SMS CORPORATION
*S9,4F ROYAL BAY TERRACE COND. UN AVE. ERMITA MLA.
Phone: 5238739/ 5216115/ 338051
Fax: 3380511/ 5261016
Email: fsms@skyinet.net

FIL-STAR MARITIME CORPORATION
S1000 10F VICTORIA BLG UN AVE ERMITA MLA ERMITA MANILA
Phone: 5219789/ 5235659/526778
Fax: 5267288/ 5362086
Email: FILSTAR@BROLINE.COM

FIRST VICTORY SHIPPING SERVICES
GF MZZNNE FLR & 2F 137-F VALHALIA ST PASAY
Phone: 5510998 / 5515345/ 51006
Fax: 8337883

FIVE STAR MARINE SERVICES CORPORATION
GF&MF NFWC BLG 964 ESCODA COR SN MRCELINO ERMITA
Phone: 5211297 / 5361567
Fax: 5361561

FLEET MANAGEMENT SERVICES PHILIPPINES INC
RM. 500 PUSO NG MAYNILA, 1046 A.MABINI COR UN AVE ERMITA MANILA
Phone: 4004929 / 4004928
Fax: 4004930
Email: fleet@world.net.ph
Website: www.fleetship.com

FLOURISH MARITIME SHIPPING
3F PHIL GUE KAW ASSO BLG,1907 MA OROSA MALATE MALATE MANILA
Phone: 5217128 (TELEFAX)

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