All-Pinoy crew to man 2 European tankers

An all-Filipino crew will man two newly commissioned tankers owned by a European shipping company.

A report by the Philippine Embassy in Beijing to the Department of Foreign Affairs said that Hellespont has been hiring Filipinos exclusively for its tanker fleet since 2004.

Hellespont has offices in Germany and Greece and a manning agency in Manila.

Embassy officials led top executives of Hellespont in the commissioning of Hellespont Protector and Hellespont Providence last Oct. 28 at the New Century Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. In Jingjiang, China.

The two tankers, with 22 to 26 crewmen, have been tapped for charter service with the Sanko Steamship Co. Ltd. of Japan later this year. The vessels’ skippers are Mardario Miquiabas and Albert Bartilad.

The Philippines is the biggest seafaring nation in the world with its 245,000 active seafarers representing 22 percent of the total globally. Filipino seamen contribute $2 billion annually to the local economy.

“All eyes are on the Philippines and its institutions of learning to sustain the rapidly growing demand for qualified officers and engineers, men and women with a world class-education, motivation and skills, capable of providing safe, reliable and efficient transportation services, while respecting increasingly stringent port state, flag state and classification requirements, and customer expectations,” Basil Ph Papachristidis,  Hellespont chairman, said during the ceremonies commissioning the two ships.       – Pia Lee-Brago