THE Philippines has kept its standing as the world’s biggest supplier of mariners, based on the 2026 Seafarer Workforce Report issued by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (Bimco) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).
The report, considered the most comprehensive assessment of global supply of and demand for seafarers, noted that the country supplied 203,179 officers and 256,968 crewmembers, ahead of India, China, Russia and Indonesia.
The five countries make up 56.25 percent of the global seafarer workforce supply.
Since 2021, global demand for certified seafarers has surged by 35 percent, the report said, following the easing of Covid pandemic restrictions.
The recruitment outlook over the last five years has spawned a situation where the shortage of officers has widened with demand, while the surplus of crewmembers has also gone up.
This year, the demand is estimated at 1,088,080 officers and 1,459,710 crewmembers. The baseline forecast is that an additional 22,747 officers would be needed to join the workforce each year until 2030.
“The recruitment, training and retention of the seafarer workforce will be crucial to ensuring that our industry is prepared for the future,” said David Loosley, secretary general and CEO of Bimco. “We have a big collective task ahead of us in working with all stakeholders and the countries that are the biggest suppliers of the seafarers operating our ships.”
For the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), the report reaffirms “the Philippines’ leading role in the global maritime workforce and the continued demand for the competence and professionalism of Filipino seafarers in international shipping.”
The country earned that reputation through a serendipitous shift in state policy strategy. In the 1970s, the Philippines was grappling with an economic crisis, severe unemployment, and a huge surplus of college graduates. President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. came up with the solution: Export Filipino workers.
A National Seamen Board was created to supervise international recruitment. Private manning agencies were also allowed to deal directly with foreign shipowners in hiring Filipino seafarers.
The strategy got a big boost in the 1980s when shipowners, seeking to avoid high taxes and domestic labor issues, increasingly registered their vessels in third-party countries like Panama. Shipping lines also trawled for seamen willing to accept lower wages.
Filipinos were an easy choice — they were proficient in English and learned seafaring basics in maritime academies that proliferated in the country. They were also willing to work for a smaller pay.
By 1987, Filipinos had dominated the merchant crew market.
Filipino seafarer remittances have since reached P439.22 billion. According to the Center for Research and Communication, every P1 remitted generates nearly P3 in the broader economy, and the ripple effect flows down to community markets, transport systems, retail spaces and consumer spending.
A substantial portion of the remittances is spent on real estate purchases, or provides seed capital for small businesses.
The dollar inflow buttresses the country’s foreign currency reserves and reduces the government’s reliance on borrowing.
Marina said it continues to strengthen the country’s maritime education, training, assessment and certification systems to keep Filipino seafarers competent, globally competitive, and compliant with international standards.
The government has also ratcheted efforts to protect maritime workers from evolving security threats.
In 2025, the long-delayed Implementing Rules and Regulations, or IRR, of the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers took effect, assuring employment protection, free legal aid and standardized contracts.
In response to the geopolitical volatility in the Middle East, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has banned the deployment of Filipino crews in conflict zones like the Strait of Hormuz.
Labor groups and maritime legal experts, however, claim the government is not doing enough to protect seafarers. They cite the fact that over 2,500 Filipino mariners remain stranded in high-risk zones in the Persian Gulf.
Migrante International stresses that contractualization continues to deny the stranded seafarers protection from excessive work hours, severe fatigue and mental stress.
During the International Day of the Seafarer last month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed to continue promoting the welfare and safety of Filipino mariners, and ensured that they will be provided with the knowledge and skills needed to stay ahead in the global maritime market.
We sincerely hope the president will deliver on his promises.
