Filipinos - The Merchant Maritime Matelots

There are 230,000 Filipinos aboard merchant shipping vessels around the world. The largest single group of any nationality.

The money they returned to their homeland in the form of remittances reached a record high of $2.5 billion in the first nine months of 2009. An increase of $108 million on the same period of the previous year according to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. (TUCP)

This money represents 20 percent of the aggregate from all Filipino migrant workers in the same period. In total, $12,790 billion were wired back to the Philippines. Up by $500 million on 2008. According to the Central Bank of the Philippines (Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas).

At present 71 Filipino sailors are currently held by Somalian pirates, 16 of whom were seized from a Greek supertanker last November 2009.

Somalian pirates operate well beyond their territorial waters, and know that shipping lines generally pay up a ransom because they need to free up their cargo, and protracted lengthy negotiation is not economically viable.

This is all very well when sailors are seized with their ships, but when they are removed from them, the shipping companies conveniently pass the buck to the country responsible for their citizens, and it is they who are expected to rescue them.

International naval fleets are spread thin, and captains of merchant vessels are reluctant to have armoury on board for fear of a disastrous altercation.

Filipino crews are an easy touch because their government is powerless to act other than appealing to the international community for support.

As more and more shipping around the world is manned by Filipinos, the world cannot wash their hands and expect the Philippines government to resolve the problem.

Maritime trade is essential. It is the principal method of importing and exporting goods and hundreds of thousands of businesses and consumers rely on it for their livelihoods.

It is the mainstay for international trade and crucial to the economic prosperity of nations.

It is unacceptable that little concerted action is utilized, because for every ship entering a danger zone the insurances increase disproportionately.

This is invariably passed on to the end user,and therefore we all have to pay the price.

Flags of convenience are exactly that - convenient - so if a Greek flagged ship is seized, but owned and managed by a shipping company registered and operating from another country, and crewed by seaman of all nationalities, then who is responsible?

All pirates know this and can play fast and loose. In the case of Somalia, there is no effective government in power to deal with their criminals elements.

Filipinos may be the new age merchant seaman, but they are vital to us all and time for action is long overdue.

Filipino sailors send remittances from their bases in Norway ($229 million) Japan ($222 million) The United Kingdom ($192 million) Germany ($175 million) Singapore ($107 million) Greece (93 million) Cyprus ($46 million) Holland ($41 million) Denmark ($24 million) Oman (25 million) Hong Kong ($25 million) Sweden ($24 million) and the USA ($1.2 Billion).

They are the powerhouse and frontline of the merchant shipping industry.

It's time the world was aware of it. It's time they were recognised.