A Comparative Brief

Indian and Filipino Seafarers

Indian & Filipino seafarers together form a major chunk of mariners who are employed on international merchant fleets. Often clubbed together for reasons of economy and compatibility, they appear to have become a preferred combination the world over, powering in tandem up to 27% of the world’s international fleets. However, cultural & traditional similarities and differences do prevail, and must be borne in mind to manage shared as well as national traits.

A comparative study of Indian and Filipino seafarers would involve examining a number of key aspects, including their training and education, employment and salary, skilled labour, international shipping industry, and their cultural adaptability.

Every comparison however is a generalization, and individual seafarers may diverge widely from these general patterns. The training, skills, and experiences of seafarers can vary largely due to individual circumstances, aptitude, and opportunity.

International Share: Filipino and Indian seafarers contribute significantly to the workforce of the international shipping industry. The Philippines supplies almost a quarter of all the seafarers globally, while at 12% India is one of the prominent suppliers of seafarers in the world’s merchant navy.

Skilled Labour: Both Indian and Filipino seafarers are known for their skills and competence across positions. However, India is often credited for producing highly skilled senior officers, while the Philippines is recognized for deck & engine ratings and junior officers.

Training & Education: The quality of maritime education is important in producing competent seafarers. India and the Philippines both have a significant number of maritime schools. However, training standards do vary. As a result the Philippines is one of the world’s largest providers of highly skilled seafarers, but India has a reputation for producing higher-ranking officers like captains and senior engineers.

Technical Knowledge: Indian seafarers are recognised for their higher technical intelligence and their leaning towards post-sea positions ashore. Filipinos on the other hand trail behind in technical knowhow and prefer longer careers at sea. This difference also leads to more Indian sea-going cadres finding their way to ships that are considered technically more sophisticated, like LNG and DP ships.

Employment and Salary: Both Indian and Filipino seafarers are major players in international shipping with a large number of them employed on foreign vessels. Filipino seafarers often dominate in lower-ranking positions like ratings, but they might receive lower salaries compared to their Indian counterparts in officer positions. Salary is often dependent on the type of vessel and the rank of the seafarer.

Cultural Adaptability: Both Indian and Filipino seafarers have high cultural adaptability due to their long exposure to various cultures on multinational ships. However, factors such as language skills and interpersonal abilities can vary from person to person.

Besides seafaring, India and the Philippines are economic rivals in the supply of manpower for a diverse range of other industries too. Both countries are known for their manpower skills in the hospitality and Information Technology sectors globally, and both see their relatively young human resource as the life blood of their respective economies.

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Some Downsides
While it is important to bear in mind that negative traits should not be generalized to all individuals within a group, it’s true that in any profession, there may be some common challenges or issues faced based on cultural, social, or institutional contexts. It’s also critical to recognize that these “negative traits” can be associated with systemic and social factors such as the training or institutional environment these seafarers come from.

Here are a few issues that have emerged in some studies regarding Indian and Filipino seafarers, although they certainly do not apply universally:
Indian Seafarers
• Hierarchical Structure: The Indian society traditionally follows a hierarchy, which sometimes manifests within Indian seafarers. This may lead to a lack of collaborative decision-making on board.
• Communication Gap: Some Indian seafarers may occasionally struggle with direct and fluent communication, leading to misunderstandings or miscommunications on board.

Filipino Seafarers
• Submissiveness: Filipino seafarers are often appreciated for their hard work and dedication. However, a lesser-known negative trait may be their perceived submissiveness or lack of assertiveness when it comes to expressing concerns or issues.
• Over-Dependency: There can sometimes be an over-dependency on guidance and instructions, which might affect the development of self-reliance in critical situations.
• Relaxed Attitude: While the Filipino seafarers are often known for their light-heartedness and good hospitality, this might sometimes transform into a too relaxed attitude, which might not be suitable in certain strict and disciplined sea environments.