By: Capt. Alvils
A great number of domestic ship owners and ship management companies are now engaged in the illegal selling of faked sea service to marine (deck and Engine) graduates desperate to show proof that they’ve already been to sea.
This ‘modus operandi’ (Sea Service for Sale) in domestic shipping has now become one of the most lucrative business of both operators and managers of coastwise-trading vessels. They operate with impunity; for ages they have defied the checking and monitoring by any government agencies.
For marine graduates to complete their BS curriculum, they offer the following rates:
1. 12 months apprenticeship training onboard domestic trading vessels - Php 25,000
2. 12 months sea service stamp on the SIRB (without shipboard apprenticeship) – Php 6,000 – 7,000 (half of this amount is paid to the master)
In item (1), CHED requires a marine graduate to have a Training Record Book (TRB) and 12 months sea experience onboard sea-going vessels of 500 GRT or more to qualify for the BS curriculum. In some cases, just to collect the training fees, they assigned trainees to tug boats or smaller size vessels and after sailing for several months, issue a sea service under a vessel over 500 GRT or larger; anti-dating the joining date to complete the 12 months service period.
In item (2), bogus service record is stamped on their individual SIRB. The purpose is similar to item (1). However, this is easily discovered once an applicant undergoes formal interview. They can not even remember the trade of vessel, ports of call, cargoes it carried, much less the name of master who signed their seaman’s book. After repeated questioning, they always confessed paying for their sea service.
Unfortunately, manning agencies like us and most especially the US embassy are now aware of these clandestine operations. So much so that, once caught the future of these young seafarers are place in serious jeopardy.
The US embassy recently issued warning that they will sanction and penalize any manning/shipping companies caught applying US C1D visa for seafarers with fake service records. Hence, no manning agency would take the risk of hiring them for world-wide trading vessels.
Sad to say, considering this is now a common practice in domestic shipping, it has become difficult for anyone to determine whether a seafarer has really served onboard inter-island vessels. The standard of training, coupled by questionable service record, is too poor that a supposedly well-experienced Able Bodied seaman (AB) could not pass the qualifying exam for an Ordinary Seaman (OS) on world-wide trading ships. In the same manner that an OIC licensed officer (I wonder how they pass the PRC licensure exam) could not even qualify for an AB position in overseas trade.
MARINA, PRC and other government agencies should crack down on these ship owners and managers selling false service record to neophyte sailors. Instead of helping them secure an overseas assignment, the opposite will happen. The fictitious service record they bought will actually ruin their seafaring career.
Likewise, any master (captain) caught signing a seaman’s book with falsified service record should have its license suspended, if not revoked.
Meantime, MARINA and PRC should undertake stiffer measures to completely eradicate this selling of sea service in domestic shipping. In addition to service records and entries to the seaman’s book, domestic trading seafarers must also be required to present an SSS deductions/contributions and crew lists from the time of joining to their time of disembarkation. Masters must also be required to execute an affidavit attesting to the authenticity of the entries to the seaman’s book, under threat of suspension or revocation of licenses if found guilty of falsification of sea service record.
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