Smart and Sun Life join Marina to fete Filipino seafarers on World Maritime Day

PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications (Smart) and financial company Sun Life Financial-Philippines are teaming up with the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), an agency under the Department of Transportation, to lead the Philippine celebration of World Maritime Day on September 29, 2017.

Recognized as an official United Nations (UN) day, the World Maritime Day is led globally by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the UN in charge of global standard-setting authority for the safety, security, and environmental performance of international shipping.

According to the IMO website, the World Maritime Day “provides an opportunity to focus attention on the importance of shipping and other maritime activities, and to highlight the significant contribution of the IMO and its member states to global efforts to improve the safety, security and efficiency of shipping and to protect the marine environment.” This year, the IMO has chosen "Connecting Ships, Ports and People" as the World Maritime Day theme for 2017.

In the Philippines, Smart, Sun Life, and Marina recently signed an agreement to hold a big celebration for seafarers and their families at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on September 29, 2017, to mark the World Maritime Day. At the same time, the event seeks to honor Filipino seafarers, who now make up 380,000 of the 1.5 million seafarers worldwide, making the Philippines the single biggest source of seafarers.

Since 2001, Smart has been serving seafaring Filipinos by launching innovative products and services to connect them to their families. One such service is the Smart Marino All Abroad, an appbased service that allows seafarers to make affordable calls and SMS at ports and even while at sea. This year, it has partnered with Marina and Sun Life to lead the country’s celebration of the World Maritime Day “as part of our steadfast commitment to help promote the well-being of Filipino seafarers, by providing them network coverage that serves as their direct line to their families in the Philippines, wherever they are in the world,” according to Joel Lumanlan, head of Smart’s Global Access and International Services Group.

For its part, Sun Life representatives shared they are “happy to partner with Smart and Marina in recognizing the achievements of all Filipino seafarers who work day and night to keep the global maritime industry going,” said Benedicto Sison, Chief Strategy and Financial Management Officer of Sun Life Financial.