AT least 80,000 Filipino seafarers on board vessels owned by the European Union (EU) may be affected or, in a worse-case scenario, may lose their jobs as a result of a leadership vacuum at the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).

This was pointed out on Wednesday by Capt. Gaudencio Morales, president, Integrated Seafarers of the Philippines, at the sidelines of a forum hosted by the multi-sectoral group Movement for Maritime Philippines (MMP) at the Manila Yacht Club on Roxas Boulevard.