Philippines remains top supplier of seafarers

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines remains the world’s leading supplier of seafarers, reaffirming its vital role in providing skilled maritime professionals to the global merchant fleet, the Maritime Industry Authority said yesterday.

MARINA cited the Seafarer Workforce Report 2026 which ranked the Philippines as first among the world’s five largest seafarer-supplying countries.

The report estimated that the Philippines supplies 203,179 officers, ahead of India with 140,718 officers, China with 110,893, the Russian Federation with 85,816 and Indonesia with 72,304.

The report said the Philippines and the four other top countries account for 56.25 percent of the global seafarer workforce supply.

MARINA added that data from shipping companies also showed that Filipinos are the leading nationality certified by the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), followed by Ukrainians, Indians, Romanians and Poles.

Filipinos also ranked first in both the officer and rating categories, MARINA added.

The agency 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 agency also continues to pursue reforms that improve the quality of maritime training and certification and address the evolving skills and competency needs of the global shipping industry,” MARINA added.

It said the findings reaffirm the Philippines’ leading role in the global maritime workforce and the continued demand for the competence and professionalism of Filipino seafarers in international shipping.

Published every five years, the Seafarer Workforce Report provides estimates on the global supply and demand of STCW-certified seafarers, workforce demographics and the future manpower needs of the world merchant fleet.