Is a cadet a seafarer?

DESPITE the maritime concerns that surfaced recently, I feel it’s urgent to deal with yet another issue that could have far-reaching consequences on the seafaring sector, unless a clear position is adopted on it. This issue essentially asks: are merchant marine cadets seafarers?

This question has been discussed among industry stakeholders, as such cadets are included in bills on the proposed creation of a Magna Carta of Fili student of a maritime education institution who is required to undergo training onboard registered maritime academic course.”

of a seafarer will show an obvious difference, as onboard a ship.”

A cadet is not onboard to work, but to study. This implies that he is yet to possess the skills of one allowed to work onboard. What comes to mind is the International Convention on Standards of Training, stipulates the minimum requirements on the training assigned shipboard tasks).

As a cadet is yet to complete his academic require at that moment of shipboard training, not competent to perform any work onboard. To consider a cadet as doing any shipboard work could mean compromis yet to be determined. International maritime safety and labor conventions do not, in fact, carry stipulations referring to cadets.

Having a merchant marine education is undoubtedly considered desirable among the Filipino youth, as they have heard how rewarding and exciting seafaring could be. The adventures of seafarers appeal to young people who dream of experiencing one day the same exploits of those who have sailed. This explains the hundreds of young people who enroll in maritime institutions, despite the tedious regimen that they have to undergo. After all, it’s natural for young Filipinos to be drawn to the sea and, to an extent, sailing, since the Philippines is an archipelago.

A young Filipino may dream of becoming a seafarer getting a slot for shipboard training, which is required to complete a merchant marine degree. For thousands - jects, there are not enough ships to accommodate all of them for training. As a result, some wait until a slot is available, which could take years, while others may not be able to graduate at all.

Bills on the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers include cadets on shipboard training, and if enacted, would grant them the same rights enjoyed by Filipino seafarers. These include the right to a safe and secure workplace and to decent work. As the ship is the seafarer’s workplace, it also serves as the cadet’s training site. And keeping the ship seaworthy and secure is without any distinction as to who is onboard at any time. Therefore, the ship is always kept seaworthy for both seafarers and maritime students.

Complications arise with the proposal to legislate the granting of allowances to cadets that are equal to 50 percent of a seafarer’s regular salary. A group of domestic-shipping players who had accommodated a number of cadets on their ships oppose this, believing that opening their ships to cadets is a concession burden on their part.

To pay the cadets half the salary a regular crew member gets may discourage shipowners from getting them on their ships. This will adversely affect the campaign to get more domestic shipowners to provide berths for cadets on their ships.

One of the objectives of the Magna Carta bills is obviously to transpose the requirements of the Maritime law, an inherent treaty obligation the Philippines as does not cover cadets, as it refers to those employed as seafarers. While it can be argued that the country has the prerogative of expanding the convention’s requirements as it deems appropriate, the inclusion of cadets in the bills may result in confusion, as the circumstances of their being onboard differ.

While recognizing the risks cadets face while training onboard, we should be mindful that ensuring the safety of ships is required for them to sail. Therefore, there should be no confusion on the role of the sea the cadet’s main concern is to learn as he observes the crew and their day-to-day operations.

As cadetship is part of maritime education, there is a need to take on such a perspective when considering to protect students of merchant marine courses when they go for shipboard training. There is a need to come up with a position on the matter among the maritime higher education institutions, shipowners, students and their parents, the Commission on Higher Education

Among these groups, Marina and CHED must at least provide the Senate with a cohesive position on the pending bills. They should not only focus on protecting their respective mandates, but also provide a holistic and rational elucidation on how a magna carta could best serve the interests of Filipino seafarers.