A COLUMN filed three months ago, "The glory and perils of ruling the Seven Seas" (Dec. 6, 2023), was a celebration of the Filipino seaman's sense of adventure and daring, the sail-anywhere, board-any-ship spirit that has made our local mariners the preferential hires of shipowners across the globe starting in the last quarter of the previous century. What makes them so dominant is this fact of life in the global maritime trade: most of the flag-of-convenience (FOC) merchant ships — commercial vessels that do not fly the flags of the real owners — make it a point of hiring Filipino crews due to their skill, uncomplaining ways and willingness to be paid below the rates of seamen affiliated with the International Transport Federation (ITF). And we all know that FOC vessels comprise the majority of ocean-going trade.
Merchant ships may fly the flag of Panama, Liberia, Belize or the Marshall Islands. The flags ocean-going ships host may vary, but there is one constant — Filipino seamen crewing these vessels.
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