Philippines, no longer the biggest producer of qualified seafarers

Filipino Seaman

For a very long time, Philippines held the title to be the country with the most number of qualified seafarers supplied for international trade, but now its rank has been overtaken by China by having the most number of officers. This is despite of the fact that Philippines is still the biggest source for ratings.

With the recent release of the latest five-year manpower report by Baltic and International Maritime Council(BIMCO) and International Chamber of Shipping(ICS), it contains the data which shows that there is an approximately 1,647,500 supply of seafarers in the world, consists of 774,000 officers and 873,500 ratings. This is according to the 2015 figures.

In the release of the said report, a prediction has also been revealed that the increasing demand for seafarers might possibly result to a scarcity in the total source of officers. It stated that an added 147,500 officers will be seriously needed to provide service to the world merchant fleet by the year 2025. 

Although there is an estimation that the global supply of officers will steadily increase, it has also been calculated to be outdone by the equally increasing demand.