The European Union expects the Philippines has already strengthened its quality assurance, competence, training and monitoring, and certification systems for seafarers by the time its technical assistance concludes in 2028.
Andreas Nordseth, senior advisor on maritime affairs and team leader of the EU-ASEAN Sustainable Connectivity Package (SCOPE) Seafarers – Technical Assistance, said during the joint Maritime Committee of the various EU business chambers in the Philippines on Thursday, February 26 that when they are done, they should be very close to their goal.
EU has funded SCOPE with 4 million euros and even extended the project up to March 2028. Intended for the ASEAN region, the main beneficiary is the Philippines, one of the world’s leading suppliers of seafarers, and Indonesia, another big supplier of maritime workers.
Although the SCOPE is dubbed as a technical assistance, Nordseth said it is actually a capacity building mechanism to help improve the training and ensure competence of Filipino seafarers when they are deployed in ocean-going vessels.
The project seeks to address implementation issues of International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) and Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), maritime administration capacity and future competence needs in the Philippines.
STCW was adopted in 1978 and amended in 2010 (Manila amendments). It sets mandatory minimum qualification standards for masters, officers, and personnel on seagoing merchant ships. Enforced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), it ensures global safety, security, and environmental protection through standardized training.
“So, we need to work with the Philippines on setting up and insuring that the monitoring system and the quality system that they use is, you know, is fit for purpose and is also robust for the future,” said Nordseth during the open forum.
He also emphasized the need to work on standards for competencies and certificates. This also includes institutional procedures and how to govern the system. Nordseth expressed hope that everything can be checked already now that the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is handing maritime education instead of the Commission on Higher Education.
Effective January 1, 2026, the MARINA officially assumed full responsibility in regulating maritime education, including issuing special orders for graduation, program permits, and certification, authentication, and verification (CAV) for seafarers. This transition, mandated by Republic Act. No. 12021, aims to unify maritime education standards.
On the STCW implementation, Nordseth noted that it is not a technical fix that is needed, rather they are pursuing from the governance side to address how the system works.
During the forum, it was noted the number of maritime schools and the volume of enrolled students and graduates. Nordseth noted the disparity in the number of graduates deployed for work compared to the 500,000 seafarers the Philippines has.
Nordseth further said the SCOPE project aims to address how the STCW system works in the country and the institutions in terms of regulation and regulatory process, monitoring and quality systems, standards for competence and certificates, and institutional procedures.
The transition from the fossil fuels to green energy and new technologies in shipping were also cited as among the issues to be addressed to ensure that seafarers are equipped and competent to handle future fuels.
“We need a just and equitable transition without leaving no one behind and that means specifically in developing countries. We need to make sure that the seafarers are not left behind. We need to make sure that the seafarers get the legal competences for the future fuels and green things,” said Nordseth.
