Dutch ship owners want all-Filipino crew

Dutch ship owners want their ships to be manned by an all-Filipino crew, from officer down to ratings (non-officer) rank, an envoy said Tuesday. The Netherlands Ambassador to the Philippines Robert Brinks disclosed during the reception he hosted at this residence on Monday night on the occasion of the 11th meeting of the Philippines-Netherlands Joint Committee on Maritime Affairs.

“Dutch employers want Filipino seafarers to occupy all positions in the ships because they are good and they can communicate well,” Brinks told journalists, adding that the Dutch have a lot of common with the Filipinos because both nationalities’ make a living out of the sea.

The Philippines is now in The Netherlands’ largest source of seafarers with at around 10,000 Filipino seafarers being hired by Dutch-owned ships annually.

Brinks’ views were shared by Tjitso Westra of the Dutch ship owners Association.

“They can perform a lot of functions well and they are more reliable than other officers [of different nationalities]. If you treat them well, they won’t leave you for other principal even for a $100 or [$]200 more,” Westra pointed out.

Brinks noted that the global economic crisis has not affected the hiring of Filipino seafarers for Dutch ships, especially at this time when the global economy is showing signs of recovery.

The Dutch envoy revealed that their shipping industry learned from the mistake it made around 20 years ago when it fired people at the time of economic slowdown. As a result, the shipping industry lacked seafarers when the situation began to improve.

“I don’t think we will slow down on hiring Filipino seafarers because Asia’s [economy] is booming, there will always be a requirement for them,” Brinks explained.

Netherlands came up with legislation that identified the best ways to recruit qualified foreign officers in Dutch-flagged ships in 1996 buoyed by the substantial increase of ships under the Dutch flag. The Philippines and The Netherlands then started the Joint Committee Meeting in 2001 that aided Manila in training its seafarers so that they can be hired by the Dutch principals.

“You have many seafarers but they are not enough jobs for them here. Giving them the right training and hiring them on board Dutch ships will provide them long time jobs for many years to come,” Westra said in closing.

South Korea fetes RP for Korean War help

As this developed, the Philippines received a plaque of appreciation from South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak for Manila’s role and contributions during the Korean War in the 1950s, the Department of Foreign Affais reported Monday.

In his report to the Foreign Affairs department, Philippine Ambassador to Seoul Luis Cruz disclosed that the Philippines received its citation on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War during a simple ceremony at the Olympic Stadium Seoul.

The Philippines sent at least 7,500 combat troops during the Korean War in August 1950, known as the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea. The Philippine contingent is the fourth largest force under the United Nations Command then under the command of United States General Douglas MacArthur that were commissioned to defend South Korea from the invasion of communist North Korea backed by Mao Zedong’s China and the Soviet Union, now Russia.

Similar plaques were also given to the other members of the United Nations Command which is composed of 16 allied countries that sent combat troops to South Korea during the Korean War in the early 50s.

These countries are the Philippines, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. –LLANESCA T. PANTI REPORTER, Manila Times